


I See Fire

by Hollie47



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, F/F, Ice Prison, Mental Anguish, Physical Abuse - Azula gets beaten up by guards, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 53,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27974594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollie47/pseuds/Hollie47
Summary: Two and a half years after she had her psychotic break, Azula is locked away in an ice prison in the Southern Water Tribe where the guards like to torture her for what her father did.  One day Ty Lee comes to see her and from that moment Ty Lee does everything and anything in her power to help Azula.  Over time Azula learns to trust Ty Lee again and opens up to her and lets Ty Lee help her.  Together they go on a journey of recovery and redemption and try to be there for one another as best they can be.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 61
Kudos: 264





	1. Chapter 1

Cold. Ice cold. The walls around her glowed a faint blue as the light reflected off the frozen surfaces. Guards both Fire Nation and Southern Water Tribe watched over her, taking it in turns while analysing her every move, barely giving her room to breathe. Shivering from the cold, Azula watched the fire from a torch flicker in the distance giving her hope that one day she would be free to go live on her own in the solitude she wished she had. On any given day Azula wished that she was anywhere but where she was. She hated it and hated what was being done to her while serving her time in captivity. The small flame reminded her of what she had lost, what could have been, and what was. 

Azula hissed slightly as pain shot through her right wrist, she tried to move to ease the throbbing but the shackles that were holding her were specially made to stop her fire bending and to keep her contained, allowing little to no movement. Every time she moved she felt them tighten or pinch, they too, like her prison, were ice cold against her bare skin. Individual shackles held each ankle and wrist tightly, a different chain anchoring each one to the outside of her cell walls. The cell itself, she could tell, was made of solid ice with a metal or similar frame to make sure she didn’t escape. Her walls were pure ice but the front of her cell was made from thick metal bars that some of the soldiers liked to shine while watching her. Sometimes during the day, if the guards were feeling nice enough, they would lengthen the chains holding her so she was able to stretch a little, and pace back and forth. Some other times the guards would tighten the chains as tight as they would allow which would leave the former princess screaming in pain on the inside as her body felt like it was going to be torn apart limb by limb. 

It had been two and a half years since she snapped under the pressure her father had placed on her shoulders. Two and a half years since she had had her psychotic break. Two and a half years since her own brother locked her away and defeated her at an Agni Kai, taking away what little honour she felt she had left. Two and a half years since Sozin’s Comet sore through the sky and the Fire Nation was defeated by the Avatar. 

It had only been a year and a half since she was imprisoned in ice and it was through no fault but her own. Each day drew on and on and at times she wished she was locked back up in the Fire Nation where it was warm. Azula knew that in only a few short hours the guards would change over and her living nightmare would begin once more.

Being able to do nothing other than wait, Azula tried to remain calm and practiced the meditations she was taught but she could feel her anxiety rise as every minute ticked by. Azula didn’t know how long she had been standing in the middle of her cell with her eyes closed; all she knew was that she was as prepared as she could be for whatever awaited her. Her gold eyes snapped open when she heard the faint sound of the metal door opening, the door that lead to the outside world and out of her prison.

Taking a deep breath in, Azula shuddered when she heard the laugh of the two Fire Nation soldiers that she had come to truly despise. She knew it would only be a matter of seconds before they came to her, a matter of seconds before she wouldn’t be able to move properly and feel her body being torn apart. 

Hearing the footsteps coming closer to her, Azula felt herself start to panic, something she never used to do. Trying her best to keep her composure, she stood still and put on her best bored face.

“Well, look Jing, the disgraced little princess is still here,” a rather nasty, plump, looking man snickered, his long, greasy, black hair up in the standard Fire Nation style bun.

“That she is, Peng, that she is. Do you think it’s time we teach her a new lesson?” Jing asked, smirking as his brown eyes lit up as he looked around to make sure no other guards were present.

“Definitely time, we haven’t seen her in over a week, for all we know she has gotten her superiority complex back,” Peng said as he moved over to the crank to tighten the chains.

“I have no superiority complex at all. I just know that even locked away I still have more honour than the both of you combined,” Azula calmly replied, her voice raspy from not being used in quite a while. 

“Shut your mouth you stupid child,” Jing responded harshly, his spit barely missing Azula’s face.

Trying her best to remain as calm as she could, Azula put on a neutral expression and waited, she knew she had yet again back chatted to the soldiers but she didn’t care. It didn’t take long before she felt the shackles tighten around her extremities, sending shooting pain through her body as the small, blunt protrusions pressed deep into her chi points, cutting off any form of self defence she had. The chains began to pull tighter and tighter, Azula could feel her muscles screaming in protest. She bit her bottom lip, trying her best not to give them the pleasure of hearing or seeing her in pain. Watching as they entered her cell, Azula did her best to prepare herself for what she knew was about to happen.

“This is for having us sent to this place after your father murdered our brothers and fathers,” Peng angrily said as he landed a swift blow to Azula’s stomach, adding in a few extra punches as he took his anger out on the teenager.

“She’s not making a sound, hit her harder,” Jing suggested as he stood behind Azula and gripped her hair, keeping her head as still as he could.

Landing blow after blow to Azula’s stomach area, Peng began to kick her shins and thighs as Jing started to punch her in the back. They were angrily telling her about the pain her family caused theirs and how they blamed her for the deaths that happened during the hundred year war. Azula could do nothing, she could barely breathe let alone speak but she kept every sound she could to herself, only a few escaping her lips. She felt numb, like this was something that she deserved, she knew it was payback for all of the people she and her family had hurt. Jing and Peng liked to remind her of everything they had to give up to come guard her and that her being alive was ruining their lives. They took their anger and frustrations out on her, belittled her, and beat her to a pulp at every chance they could get, thinking it was fair punishment.

Azula felt the pain tear through her body, everything ached, and every muscle felt as if it was on fire. It reminded her of the very first time lightning went through her body and almost killed her. She tried her best to ignore what they were saying but some things they were saying she knew were true. She was a monster and she was responsible for a lot of deaths, this she couldn’t take back even if she wanted to but she didn’t as what was done was done. Instead Azula wondered why her brother choose these specific people to come and watch her, did he send them because he also believed she needed to be punished? Azula started to wonder if anyone ever really cared for her or wanted what was best for her, she felt alone and isolated and when she thought back to anyone who she thought even remotely cared about, all she could think about was Ty Lee. Ty Lee who was the closest person she had ever had to a friend. 

“The doors are opening, let’s get out of here,” Peng quietly said to Jing, as they hurried out of the cell, hearing the metal entrance door slam shut. 

Hearing her cell door creak, Azula risked taking a quick glance and saw that both Peng and Jing were leaving rather quickly. They slammed her bars shut and locked them securely, activating the release in pressure on the chains and shackles. Azula waited until the two men had left before she sat on the floor with her back pressed up against the ice cold wall. Hearing them talk to two other guards, she knew she wouldn’t be harassed until at least tomorrow. Letting out a shaky breath Azula felt warm tears run down her cheeks as she shivered from the cold as it seeped into her body once more.

Azula wasn’t one to cry but everyone had a breaking point and after being beaten up and told how useless you are over and over again, she started to believe what they were saying about her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath in and tried to control her emotions _. You’re nothing but a murderer! You’re are not worthy of the air you breathe! You’re a monster just like your father! Dishonoured and unwanted by everyone! You only deserve what we dish out to you! You murdered our families and now you will pay for your actions!_

Pushing her thoughts aside after a few moments, Azula tried to regain some of her composure. Wiping the tears from her face she straightened herself up and pressed her back harder into the ice cold wall trying to relieve some of the pain that was throbbing throughout her body. One of the only benefits she found from being locked away in an ice prison was that the cold helped to soothe her aches and pains and at this point she would take whatever would help her.

_‘I really wish I had someone, anyone, to talk to,’_ Azula thought to herself, thinking back to when she was younger and only had enough friends to count on one hand. Being the former princess to the Fire Nation, Azula used to pride herself on being able to get anyone to do what she wanted, when she wanted. She was able to speak and the entire room would fall silent and listen to every word she had to say. Now, Azula didn’t even know if she could say more than a sentence at a time, it had been a while since anyone asked her anything. Most days she usually didn’t speak back at the guards but she had some exceptions, especially when it came to the two men she despised so much.

Azula knew that her mental health was deteriorating, she could feel herself slipping more and more by the day but she knew it wasn’t the same as what happened the first time she fell apart. This time it felt more like her entire body was numb, her mind was numb, and no matter what was done to her, she felt like it was her own fault. This time there were no hallucinations and no voice in her head telling her to set everything on fire. She had two people more than willing to tell her about how disgraceful and unwanted she was, she didn’t need the added extra baggage of her own brain telling her it was all true but here she was, her brain believing everything that was said to her, her walls torn down.

Hearing the metal doors open yet again, Azula quickly wiped at her face and got up off the floor. She could feel her entire body protest but she pushed through the pain and stood up. Azula carefully listened to the sound of the footsteps and raised an eyebrow as they sounded too light to be that of any boots that the guards wore. Waiting until the sounds got closer, Azula took a step back so she was out of reach of any attacks the guards may try with their bats. She had a feeling it may be a sneak attack and she waited until the person was in front of her cell.

Seeing a figure dressed in pink stop in front of her prison cell, Azula focused on the person and she could barely keep the look of shock off her face as Ty Lee stood in front of her. The last time she had seen Ty Lee was when she was fourteen years old and having her first psychotic episode. She wondered for a brief second if she was seeing things.

Azula’s gold eyes met Ty Lee’s grey and they held each other’s gaze for what felt like an eternity. Ty Lee’s expression was neutral; she looked neither happy nor sad. Azula could tell she didn’t look the best. She was favouring her left side over her right, her hair hadn’t been brushed in months, and she hadn’t been allowed to shower or bathe in what felt like forever. Her clothing was tattered and torn; it was just thick enough to help protect her from getting frostbite. She barely got any sleep these days, fearing that someone was going to come and murder her in her sleep like the guards threatened, even with her brother’s order to keep her alive. 

Ty Lee on the other hand, was dressed in a long, thick pink coat. She had on black pants and black shoes to match. Ty Lee looked healthy, she looked good. Azula wondered what was going through the other girl’s head as she stood in front of her not saying a word.

Watching every movement Azula made, Ty Lee could straight away tell that something was very wrong. The Azula she knew was gone and was replaced with what seemed like a shell of her old self. Ty Lee took a mental note that Azula looked like she hadn’t eaten or been taken care of in what looked like a very long time. She stood in front of her wearing a torn grey jumper and matching long grey pants with thick soled shoes of which looked like they were held together with string. Ty Lee studied Azula’s face, the former princess looked very pale, she looked like she had lost a bit of weight, and overall she looked unwell, sick almost. The cold wasn’t helping Azula either, Ty Lee watched as the girl in front of her shivered from it penetrating her body. She knew why it was an ice cell but she still felt bad that her childhood best friend was freezing. 

Ty Lee wondered what was going through Azula’s head. Was she happy to see her or did she want to kill her where she stood. Azula’s face gave nothing away but Ty Lee knew Azula and she could tell that the former princess had been crying, her eyes were still a little red. For the entire time that Ty Lee knew Azula, Ty Lee could only recall five times she had seen tears freely run down Azula’s face and three of the times was when her father tried to teach her how to deal with torture by torturing the young girl himself. Each time Azula ended up spending the night at Ty Lee’s and crying in her arms about how much it hurt and about how much pressure her father was putting on her and how she had to be the perfect daughter and fire bender. The other two times were right after Azula’s mother had left and Azula blamed herself for it as she overheard her mother calling her a monster.

To Ty Lee it looked as if someone had intentionally tried to break the former princess and had mostly succeeded. By now Ty Lee had expected Azula to say something, anything, and the fact that she hadn’t Ty Lee knew that whatever was happening to Azula was greatly affecting her to the point her spirit was broken. Running her eyes over Azula, Ty Lee knew that she would be coming back, she still deeply cared about the girl in front of her and that had never changed over the years. Azula was her first friend, and Ty Lee hoped that one day they could be friends once more. 


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly running her eyes over Azula and her cell, Ty Lee couldn’t tell how she felt, she knew it wasn’t any good emotion; it kind of resembled sadness but deeper, it wasn’t something she had ever felt before.

Hearing Azula’s stomach rumble, Ty Lee blinked and took a deep breath in. “When was the last time you had something to eat?

Swallowing, Azula lowered her head and looked at the floor. She was hungry and felt weak. “A few days ago,” she replied, her voice hoarse.

“I’ll be back, I’m going to speak to the head guard,” Ty Lee responded, turning on her heel and marching towards the large metal door that lead to the outside world.

Stopping in front of a Southern Water Tribe soldier, Ty Lee straightened her back up as she faced the man. “What is the daily schedule for Azula?”

“The schedule I’m not sure of, my duty is to guard the doors. To find out day to day plans General Zhan should be able to tell you, he should be in the mess down this corridor to you left,” the guard replied, watching as Ty Lee marched away, quickly thanking him first.

Making her way down the ice tunnel to the room the guard told her about, Ty Lee entered it and spotted the man she was after straight away as he was the only person in there. “General Zhan, may I please have a word?” Ty Lee asked, trying her best to be as nice as she could.

“Of course, what is it?” The man replied, signalling for Ty Lee to take a seat.

“I’ve just been down and seen Azula and I would like to know what exactly is the schedule in terms of when she’s fed, when she’s allowed to sleep, and when she’s allowed to take care of herself,” Ty Lee asked, giving the man a small smile.

“She’s allowed to sleep whenever she wants, the chains attached to the shackles should loosen up enough to allow her movement throughout the cell while there are no guards inside. The shackles will tighten and pinch every so often as they are made to block her chi points so she can’t fire bend and escape. She’s also given a wash cloth and bucket of water twice a week to clean herself with; a female guard watches over her to make sure she doesn’t try anything. The prisoner is meant to be getting one meal a day but sometimes the guards don’t abide by this. I try my best to enforce it but some of them don’t listen and refuse to hand over food when I’m not here,” General Zhan answered calmly as he took a sip of his tea.

“I just saw Azula and she said she hadn’t been fed in days, you really need to get on top of the guards and make sure they do their job. I’m going to get her some food and a drink and take it to her. Am I allowed to go inside of the cell?” Getting up from her chair, Ty Lee started to gather a plate of food to take to Azula, not caring if the General had a problem with it.

“I’ll get a guard to accompany you back to her cell, if you do wish to enter the chains will have to be tightened so she won’t be able to move, it’s a safety feature that we have to take seriously,” General Zhan replied, calling in two soldiers and letting them know what Ty Lee was going to do.

Gathering up some fresh fruit imported by the Fire Nation and some freshly baked bread, Ty Lee cut the fruit up into bite-size pieces, placing them into a small bowl and she buttered the bread, putting it on a plate. She poured out a hot mug of tea and put everything onto a tray before nodding to the soldiers to follow her back to Azula’s cell.

Walking down the long corridor to the ice cell, Ty Lee took note that entire place was lit up by fire torches hanging out of the walls and it made her wonder how the ice behind them hadn’t started to melt yet. Looking down at the floor as she walked she noticed it had small, raised bumps on it to help people to not slip and fall down. The entire place was freezing cold and Ty Lee wondered how anyone could survive down here for any length of time.

Arriving at Azula’s cell, one of the guards put a hand on Ty Lee’s shoulder to stop her opening the door. “We need to tighten the chains so she can’t move; this should only take a moment.”

Watching as a look of pain crossed Azula’s face, Ty Lee knew for certain now that something more was going on that the guards weren’t telling her or the General about. “Don’t tighten the chains too much; I would still like her to be able to move a little.” Looking back to Azula, Ty Lee looked her straight in the eyes. “Azula, if we don’t tighten the chains fully will you stay where you are?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to see if Azula would stay true to her word.

“I won’t move until I’m allowed to,” Azula responded, knowing that doing anything would cause her more pain than she was already in.

“We have to tighten the bottom ones no matter what but I suppose I can leave a little give in the wrist chains,” the soldier replied, tightening them just enough to keep Azula where she was.

“Azula, is that okay for you?” Ty Lee asked, wanting the former princess to have some say as she shifted the tray of food to her other hand.

Watching as Azula nodded her head, Ty Lee motioned to the guard that it was tight enough. Noticing them quickly moving another leaver, Ty Lee heard the sound of the shackles tighten then loosen. “Can I go in now?” she asked as the guards stood next to her in front of the cell.

“You may enter but the General doesn’t want you inside any longer than ten minutes. After the ten minutes is up you will accompany us out of the prison and to the camp. Is that understood?” The other guard said, his brown eyes looking stern.

“Understood, now please open the door.” Watching as the tall, blue eyed Water Tribe soldier, opened the door, Ty Lee kept a close eye on Azula and watched for any sign of movement. Entering the cell, Ty Lee remained calm and offered the other girl a small smile. The chains that held Azula were slack enough that she could take a step to either side and move her arms up and down by a few centimetres. 

Going over to the bed, Ty Lee set the tray down and picked up the bowl of fruit and brought it over to Azula. “I got you a bowl of fruit as I know you love strawberries and well, all berries really.”

Watching Azula nod her head, Ty Lee brought a piece of fruit up to the former princesses mouth and fed it to her, doing so with all of the berries in the bowl. Ty Lee could tell that Azula hadn’t had any kind of fruit in quite a while and it saddened her to know that she wasn’t being well looked after.

Popping the last berry into Azula’s mouth, Ty Lee swapped the empty bowl out for the plate of freshly buttered bread. Holding it so Azula could bite into it, Ty Lee took the time to observe what Azula’s cell was like more closely. There was a solid rock bed base in the corner with a mattress on top of it, on top of the mattress sat a singular pillow and a sleeping bag. On the other side of the cell there was toilet with a roll of toilet paper attached to the wall. The cell was mostly empty to which Ty Lee was surprised there was even a bed in it. 

Feeding the last bite of bread to Azula, Ty Lee softly smiled and moved her hand up slowly to the girl’s face, wiping the corner of Azula’s mouth to remove the few bread crumbs that have gathered there.

“Can I have a drink?” Azula softly asked, so no one other than Ty Lee could hear her.

“Of course, I got you some hot tea,” Ty Lee replied, getting the mug and raising it to Azula’s lips as the girl drank the contents as quickly as she could. “Is there anything else you want or need? My ten minutes are almost up but if I can I’ll come back tomorrow to see you.”

“That doesn’t sound terrible,” Azula softly replied, knowing that she needed someone to help her and she wasn’t going to knock back the offer. In the two and a half years she had been locked up the only people who she had to see regularly were the guards and a therapist whose job it was to help her sort through her problems. “If you’re allowed to come back I would like a blanket and a change of clothes, I’m filthy and it’s freezing in here,” Azula added, not making eye contact the entire time, her eyes trained on the floor of the cell.

“I’ll try my best to convince General Zhan to let me come back, try to get some rest Azula,” Ty Lee said as she heard the door to the cell open.

“Ma’am it’s time to leave,” the soldier stated guiding Ty Lee out of the cell.

Heading down the long corridor, Ty Lee walked in silence, she didn’t say a word and ignored the guards whenever they tried to converse with her. She felt hurt and angry for how Azula was being treated and she wanted to try to make a difference. Coming up to the large, thick, black metal door she waited for the benders to open it up as it required both fire and water bending in unison to get the door to lift up. Once open the blue eyed Water Tribe soldier guided her outside and bid her farewell before he went back inside to resume his duties.

Making her way over to the small camp, Ty Lee took her time to gather her thoughts and what she wanted to say to her friend and now Fire Lord, Zuko. After leaving the Kyoshi Warriors she wanted to do something more with her life, she thought about going back to the circus which was something she had always considered but now she didn’t know what she wanted to do before today. Seeing Azula locked away, looking so small and fragile, made something inside of her stir, she wanted to help her old friend, she wanted to bring order to the chaos among the soldiers.

Entering the camp ground, Ty Lee noticed that all of the soldiers were inside of their tents away from the cold as the sun was starting to set off in the distance. Heading to the main tent tucked away in the corner, Ty Lee knocked on the wooden sign and waited until she was allowed in.

“Zuko, I’ve just been and seen Azula and I’m not happy at all,” Ty Lee said, plopping herself down on the chair across from the Fire Lord’s.

“Is Azula okay? What happened?” Zuko asked, his voice sounding worried as he saw the emotion of the younger girl’s face.

“From what I could tell just by looking at her, she’s injured and I think it’s pretty bad. She’s favouring one side and she can barely stand up without being in pain, she didn’t mention it to me though, I think she’s still too proud to. The guards barely feed her or allow her to clean herself and they’ve broken her Zuko, I don’t know how but they have,” Ty Lee responded, her eyes tearing up a little.

“When she was moved here General Zhan was given strict instructions to make sure she is fed twice daily, has clean bedding and clothing, and has the chance to clean herself up every second day. She’s also meant to have a hot cup of tea a day using Uncle Iroh’s special blend which was specially made to help treat her depression, trauma, and to help stop the voices if she hears them but Uncle Iroh is pretty certain she does, it’s also apparently calming. She’s also meant to be out of the chains for an hour a day after the shackles have suppressed her fire bending to allow her to be able to stretch so her muscles don’t seize up. I can talk to the General and all the guards tomorrow before we leave and make sure they get into line,” Zuko replied, trying to keep his anger at bay.

“I was thinking, with your permission of course, if I would be able to stay here for the next two or three weeks and be able to visit Azula daily and make sure she’s okay while figuring out what the guards are up too. I would like to talk to her, help her clean up, and make sure her mental health gets back on track,” Ty Lee suggested, hoping that her friend would agree with her plan.

“I think that would be a smart idea, we’ll have eyes on the inside and when I come back in two weeks to finish talking trades with Hakoda and Sokka, I’ll check in with you and then you can decide if you want to stay a little longer or come back to the Fire Nation with Mai and I as she’s coming with me next week to have talks with Katara and Avatar Aang,” Zuko agreed. Getting up from his chair he went over to his small camp fire and poured both himself and Ty Lee a cup of Jasmine tea.

Taking the cup of tea that was offered to her, she took a sip and waited for Zuko to sit back down. “Would it be okay if I made sure Azula got her tea and drank it all while I was there visiting? I don’t trust the guards to do it correctly.”

“That would be for the best. Tomorrow morning I’ll call a meeting with General Zhan and the guards and tell them that you’ll be there every day until I see fit and that you are to be allowed to see the prisoner whenever you want and that you are allowed to stay visiting for as long as you see fit. If any of the guards give you trouble talk to General Zhan and if he doesn’t listen or gives you trouble, pay a visit to the town and talk with Hakoda and he’ll come sort things out,” Zuko replied, resting his tea on the small table next to his chair.

“Can I be present at this meeting just so we are all on the same page and so the soldiers can’t try and tell me otherwise?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to make sure that no wool could be pulled over her eyes.

“Of course, meet me outside my tent tomorrow morning at sunrise,” Zuko agreed, taking a sip of his tea.

“Zuko, I just, I felt so bad seeing Azula today, I really did, and it wasn’t because I hadn’t seen her in so long, it was more that I felt bad for her, she’s really looking beat up and like a shell of her old self,” Ty Lee said, still in shock over seeing the state the former princess was in.

“I want to go and see her, I really do, but I don’t think it would be what is best for her. I know she’s my little sister and I should but I can’t. I only have allowed you and Uncle Iroh to see her, the only other contact she has is with the soldiers and a person Uncle calls a therapist who is meant to help Azula come to terms with what has happened. To Azula I was the person who sent her out here to the ice prison, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was blaming me for whatever is happening to her,” Zuko replied, looking down into his almost empty cup of tea.

“If I may ask, what did Azula exactly do to be locked up out here in the freezing cold?” Ty Lee asked, wondering what the girl did that was so bad that she was banished to the Sothern Water Tribe.

“It happened a year and a half ago, one year after our Agni Kai, Mai and I went to visit her and it didn’t go as planned. To start off with Mai wasn’t exactly friendly and reminded her of her loss to me and then I told her that Mai and I were engaged and when we were to wed, Mai and I would rule over the Fire Nation as Fire Lord and Fire Lady. Hearing this made Azula lose it, she breathed fire into Mai’s face, burning her which luckily Katara was able to fully heal, and she came at me saying I was destroying the Fire Nation by marrying a traitor. She broke free from her cell, injured over twenty guards and burned the prison down to the ground. She was out of control and needed help, more help than what the Fire Nation could give her. Uncle thought that if she was imprisoned near a spirit portal, even if it’s closed, it would help her. Having the Avatar to watch over her too was part of the reason we chose this exact spot. Ever since coming out here, she has had her chi blocked the entire time by Earth Kingdom design and has had therapy every second to third day to help her come to terms with what has happened,” Zuko answered, filling Ty Lee in on the events leading to the ice prison.

“Oh my, I didn’t know it was that bad, I had heard stories but nothing like that. I hope that everyone who was injured healed,” Ty Lee responded, covering her mouth with her hand.

“The worst injuries were a guard with a broken leg and Mai’s burn. We were just lucky that Katara and Aang were visiting and Katara somehow had some spirit water on her and got to Mai very quickly. They managed to arrive on scene very fast and Aang was the one who recaptured Azula and did some Avatar thing that knocked her unconscious. If it weren’t for Aang, Azula would have escaped and who knows what she would have done,” Zuko said, draining the last of his tea.

“That is very lucky, I would say I hope Azula gets the help she needs but currently I don’t think that is happening,” Ty Lee frowned, looking into her mug.

“Hopefully, as of tomorrow, we can change that. I do think that Azula has it in her to change for the better. She doesn’t have Father pressuring her or ordering her around anymore. I think a major part of it was our childhood and how he always pushed her past her limits but I think that is something for her therapist to work on with her.” Getting up from his chair, Zuko added some more wood to his fire to try and warm the room up.

“I also believe Azula is capable of change but it’s definitely going to take a while. I remember when we were little, like four years old, Azula was one of the sweetest and nicest people I had ever met. She made me feel like we would be lifelong friends but when Ozai discovered how strong she was she changed. Her first broken bone was the year after, she told everyone at school that she fell out of a tree but she spent that lunch time with me and told me your father purposely broke her arm because she couldn’t perform a move perfectly in his eyes. It hurt me so much to hear that,” Ty Lee shared, pulling her jacket closer around her body as she felt the cold start to seep in through her clothes.

“I remember that day like it was yesterday; I had never seen Mother so angry before then, it was rather scary.” Looking into the fire, Zuko thought back to his childhood and knew that it was not okay.

“I bet it was, you two deserved better. But as what Azula used to say, what’s done is done and you can’t change it.” Getting up from her chair, Ty Lee joined Zuko by the fire and let the heat seep into her cold body.

“The soldiers are starting to gather outside to have our communal meal, we should go and join them,” Zuko said, putting on his thick animal-fur jacket.

Exiting the tent, Ty Lee and Zuko went and joined the soldiers who were lighting a giant fire. Engaging in some small talk with the soldiers, Ty Lee tried to ask them about the former princess but none of them had anything to say, saying that they were mostly on door duty and outside protection, and if she wanted to know about the goings on inside she should speak to General Zhan, or the six main soldiers who were allowed inside. 

“So who are the soldiers that are allowed inside?” Ty Lee asked a Water Tribe soldier after a few minutes of chit-chat, while secretly admiring her long light brown hair.

“There are three Fire Nation soldiers, Jing and Peng, they do afternoon shifts and they are not very nice. They are the two large, rather mean and unkempt looking men by the fire; I honestly don’t know why they are still here. The other one is Toshiko and she’s currently on patrol right now, she may have been in the prison while you were inside. The other three are Southern Water Tribe and they are my brother Noa, he does morning shift, Eeka who is currently on night shift and Uki, who also does morning shift, she’s the beautiful lady over there with the bright blue eyes helping put the food on to cook,” The soldier replied, happy to sit down and talk to someone who wasn’t a soldier.

“Why do you think that Jing and Peng shouldn’t be here?” Ty Lee asked, curious about the two men.

“They are just really rude and very rough with other people. I’ve been pushed aside by Peng multiple times and every time he just laughs and tells me I should have moved quicker. No one here is willing to stand up to them and General Zhan has told us to leave them be and that he’ll deal with them.” Looking into the fire, the Water Tribe soldier sighed, and turned to face Ty Lee, her blue eyes appearing tired. “No one here will talk, not with General Zhan in charge. Meet me back here after dinner, I need to tell you something.” Leaving Ty Lee standing there the soldier disappeared into the group of people.

Not expecting to have anyone willing to talk to her so soon, Ty Lee was wary about the soldier whose name she forgot to get, and she wondered if it was safe to meet up with her. Going over to the fire, Ty Lee played with the end of her braid and wondered if she had any information about Azula. From her years in the circus, and being trained in martial arts and chi blocking, Ty Lee felt confident that she could take on a group of people but she really didn’t want to. Deciding she needed to meet up with the woman for her own sanity knowing that if she didn’t she wouldn’t be able to sleep; she got herself a plate of food and ate it slowly while discretely observing the soldiers in the camp.

Making her way over to one of the makeshift ice seats which was out of the way of the main group of people, Ty Lee kept a close eye on the soldiers who watched over Azula. Noa was sitting down with three Fire Nation soldiers, he seemed to be carefree and happily bit at his whole cooked fish, laughing and joking around. Uki was sitting down by herself in front of the fire, her cheeks slightly pink as she nibbled at her food. Following the direction of Uki’s eyes, Ty Lee noticed that the woman was watching the soldier who she was meant to meet up with later on who was also sitting by herself on the other side of the fire. Peng and Jing were at the makeshift table stuffing their faces full of food, Ty Lee observed them carefully, watching as Jing pushed a soldier out of the way to get to more food, while Peng took such a big bite of fish he choked on his food, making Ty Lee snicker. She knew already that she didn’t like the two men but she couldn’t put her finger on why. They almost seemed familiar to her like she had seen them before coming to the Southern Water Tribe.

General Zhan was off to the side, eating some form of meat on a stick while he talked to Fire Lord Zuko. They looked deep in discussion and like they hadn’t had the chance to fully catch up on the goings on of the single cell prison. Noticing that the crowd of people started to thin out, Ty Lee remained seated and watched as everyone made their way back into their tents and huts. 

“Ty Lee, are you going to retire for the night?” Zuko asked, noticing that Ty Lee hadn’t moved in quite a while.

“Not just yet, Zuko. I’m just thinking and enjoying the fire,” Ty Lee responded, her eyes never leaving the flame.

“Okay, well, goodnight, I’ll see you at sunrise.”

“Goodnight Zuko,” Ty Lee replied, watching as the last of the people gathered had disappeared into the tents and huts that surrounded the fire.


	3. Chapter 3

“Meela, have you spoken to the girl yet?” Uki quietly asked as she came up behind the light brown haired woman, the darkness of the night mostly hiding them from the view of anyone who was around.

“I haven’t exactly, I asked her to meet up with me after everyone had retired for the night. General Zhan was staring down at anyone who spoke to her,” Meela replied, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance.

“I was going to say that, I saw him doing that and it got me worried. I don’t want anything to happen to you Meela, I really don’t,” Uki said, holding Meela’s hands as the light of the fire flickered brightly for a moment.

“I know Uki, I know, but I feel like General Zhan, Peng, and Jing, and whoever else, can’t get away with what they are doing forever,” Meela responded, emotion building up in her voice as she thought of Azula locked away in the ice prison.

“They need to pay for what they are doing, I agree, but is it worth your safety?” Uki asked, gripping Meela’s hands a little tighter. “You know what will happen if you say anything.”

“I really don’t care what they do to me; I’m a fully grown adult who can fend for herself. Azula is a sixteen year old girl who has lost all ability to defend herself and I really don’t want to think about what they do to her, I have heard her scream and it sends chills down my spine. Come with me to see Ty Lee, two water benders in a full moon, like it currently is, can knock those three fire benders on their arses if they start anything,” Meela answered, raising their joined hands to her mouth and gently placing a kiss on Uki’s fingers.

“I’ll go with you, how can I say no to those pretty blue eyes,” Uki said, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Meela’s lips.

“You have a good heart Uki, I’m lucky to call you mine. Before things may possibly go pear shaped, thank you for always sticking by me and following along with my semi dangerous plans,” Meela replied, smiling at the woman in front of her.

“As what our warriors said when we were at war with the Fire Nation, ‘I will go down with this ship’ always and forever,” Uki joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“I love you, even when you try to make a joke,” Meela smiled, shaking her head slightly.

“I love you too. We should probably head off to meet up with Ty Lee before it gets any colder,” Uki said, looking around them to make sure the coast was clear.

\---

Watching the fire as it started to die down Ty Lee looked around her and noticed two figures in the distance walking towards her. Making sure that no one else was around, Ty Lee tried to see if it was the soldier or not while wondering why there were two of them and not just the one. Gearing herself up in case she needed to defend herself, Ty Lee tried to catch a glimpse of them by using the remaining light from the fire.

Finally able to tell who the figures were, Ty Lee let out the breath she was holding as she realised it was the soldier and one of Azula’s guards, Uki. Not moving from her seat, Ty Lee waited until the two women joined her and watched as they water bended themselves a seat each.

“Uki and I did a walk around camp before coming here and everyone appears to have turned in for the night so we should be good to quickly talk. I also think I forgot to introduce myself during dinner, I’m Meela, I work the door on the inside,” Meela quietly said, paranoid that someone would overhear their conversation.

“We have to make this quick though so I’m going to get right to the point, please keep all questions to the end. As I’m sure Meela has told you I work on the inside as a guard, I started this shift a week ago along with the other guards, we change over once every fourteen days, some of us stay here, and others head home depending on circumstances. I do morning shifts and every morning I have noticed that Azula is deteriorating more and more, I try to sneak her food when I can but I feel it’s not enough. She’s getting injured somehow and I think it’s an inside job but I can’t tell who it is,” Uki said, her eyes darting around the camp.

“When I’m on early morning shifts for the door sometimes I can hear her screaming in her sleep. She barely is allowed out of the chains too, I can tell when they’re being released or tightened and most of the time they remain tightened. When Azula thinks the guards aren’t near I can hear her sobbing and it kills me every time. Yes I know what she has done is horrible but she’s also a sixteen year old girl and it’s not right, we just wanted you to know what was going on,” Meela added, feeling more and more anxious as each minute passed by.

“If I’m not here and you two hear anything more about what is happening to Azula or see anything, please, I beg, go to Chief Hakoda and please tell him and let Avatar Aang know,” Ty Lee asked of them, feeling panicked as her suspicions were basically confirmed.

“We would like to tell Chief Hakoda but we don’t want to be the cause of an argument that we know will escalate into a fight so soon after the end of the hundred year war. There are only a handful of us water benders here and our home is so close we don’t want it destroyed if things got out of control,” Meela replied, not able to look Ty Lee in the eye.

“I understand I really do; I’m hopefully going to be able to stay here for a few days with Fire Lord Zuko’s permission to make sure Azula picks up a little. I’m also hoping that I can get her to talk to me. We are just going to have to see what happens,” Ty Lee replied, her head snapping up as she heard the faintest sound of movement.

“We need to get going before someone spots us, we’ll see you around,” Uki said, grabbing hold of Meela and quickly ducking out of sight behind the tents and huts.

Drawing her attention back to the fire Ty Lee watched as the last of the embers died down into ash. The conversation she had just had made her feel a range of emotion, she felt sad, worried, angry, and she wanted to do something to change what was happening but she knew she would have to go about it very stealthily.

Feeling the cold starting to seep through her jacket, she got up from her seat and made her way to the hut she was staying in. Thankful that Zuko had stopped by and lit the fire for her, she took off her jacket and made her way to the small bathroom before kicking off her shoes and crawling into bed, slipping into a restless night of sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up with what felt like a migraine, Ty Lee groaned and rubbed her forehead. Outside was still dark and there was no sign of the sun rising. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in she pulled the sleeping bag up to her chin and thought about how she was going to try to get Azula to talk to her. Ty Lee knew that it was going to take time to gain back Azula’s trust but she had faith in herself that she could. Ty Lee had a plan and it was to start small and work her way up from there if things weren’t as bad as she felt they were.

Finally deciding to move after hearing the sounds of people about outside, Ty Lee got up from her bed and tugged her jacket back on. Sliding her shoes on, she exited the hut and made her way over to the fire, grabbing a bowl of porridge on the way. Seeing Zuko exit his hut, Ty Lee offered him a small smile and waited for the Fire Lord to join her.

“Did you sleep well?” Zuko asked, shoving his mouth full of food.

“I’ve slept better, you?” Ty Lee replied, rubbing sleep from her eye.

“I was up most of the night; I just couldn’t stop thinking about Azula. I’ve decided that I want to see her before I leave, to see for myself what is happening,” Zuko said, determination setting in on his face.

“Shall we head over to the prison? Maybe a surprise visit will knock them off guard for a moment,” Ty Lee suggested as she followed Zuko over to the large pot of water that they placed their bowls into to be cleaned.

“I think that’s a good idea, we shall head there now.” Holding his head high, Zuko headed toward the prison which held his little sister.

Walking beside the Fire Lord through the snow and onto the path, they quickly made their way to the prison and headed toward the large metal door. Demanding it open, Zuko stormed down the corridor and stopped in front of Azula’s cell while Ty Lee stayed back out of sight to give them some privacy.

“Why are you here Zuko?” Azula asked, her voice croaky.

“I came to see how you are,” Zuko replied, trying not to show the shock he felt at the state his sister was in.

“You locked me up here, you choose these people to keep me contained, how do you think I am, just look at me,” Azula seethed, blaming her brother for everything that has happened to her, unable to keep her emotions in check.

“I’ll be back in two weeks, Ty Lee will be checking on you from time to time. I’ll talk to General Zhan to see about getting you cleaned up. Is there anything else?” Waiting for a reply he looked Azula straight in the eye.

“Ty Lee. I want Ty Lee to help me get cleaned up, no one else,” Azula said with the faintest sound of panic in her voice as she tried to suppress it.

“That will be arranged. Goodbye Azula.” Spinning on his heel Zuko stormed out of the building and marched into the camp, barging into General Zhan’s hut.

“Why does my sister look like she’s been beaten half to death?” Zuko fumed at the man in front of him.

“Fire Lord Zuko, the guards only use what is required to keep the former princess contained,” General Zhan replied, remaining calm.

“She is chained to the cell, no force or any kind of physical contact should be necessary. Ty Lee will remain here for the next two weeks and you will follow every and any command she has to give. She is also to have free access to Azula whenever she wants and if I hear any different I will hunt you down and to do you what has been done to my sister plus more. Tell the guards that if they lay a finger on my sister they will be banished from the Fire Nation and their families will not be allowed to leave. The Southern Water Tribe soldiers will be dealt with harshly by Chief Hakoda. I’ll be back in two weeks to make sure things have changed,” Zuko told the older man, making sure the general knew to get back into line.

“Yes Fire Lord Zuko, I’ll let the guards know,” General Zhan responded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“You better.” Storming out of the hut with Ty Lee following close behind, Zuko entered his hut and turned to face Ty Lee. 

“I will be back in four days with Mai, I’ll be coming unannounced so don’t let anyone know. If anyone gives you trouble that you can’t deal with alone, go to Chief Hakoda and Avatar Aang and ask them for help. I will be stopping by to see them on my way out. Please take care of my sister,” Zuko said, trying his best to get his cool composure back. 

“Zuko, I promise you I’ll do my best to take care of Azula. General Zhan and the guards shouldn’t be a problem, I am very skilfully trained in martial arts and can chi block anyone who comes after me. After all I did help conquer Ba Sing Se at just fourteen years old and was a member of the Kyoshi Warriors,” Ty Lee replied, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

“That is true; I do trust you know how to defend yourself if needed, I just don’t want you getting hurt. Please also don’t let Azula know I’ll be back with Mai so soon, I want no one else to know and I don’t know how she will take to Mai after last time,” Zuko responded, starting to pack his bag to leave.

“I won’t, when you come in four days I’ll hopefully have more information for you,” Ty Lee said, handing Zuko his jacket off the back of the chair.

Helping Zuko gather the remaining things he needed to pack, Ty Lee helped him carry them outside to where the crew from his ship waited for him to take the Fire Lord back home for a few days.

\---

A few hours had passed in which Ty Lee spent them talking over a new plan to take care of Azula with General Zhan. The General’s attitude had changed drastically since Zuko had threatened him and Ty Lee now felt she was definitely going to make a change. Coming up with a new guard roster and schedule, Ty Lee made sure she met every person before she committed to them watching over the former princess. 

Leaving General Zhan with orders to talk to the soldiers, Ty Lee made her way back to the prison with the new afternoon guards following closely behind. Ty Lee knew the Jing and Peng were currently on duty and from what she had heard they may not take well to being ordered around by a sixteen year old. 

Watching the display of water and fire bending it took to lift the massive door, Ty Lee entered the ice prison and lead the way to the break room where Jing and Peng were sitting, stuffing their faces full of bread. 

“Little child, did you get lost?” Peng mockingly asked as he looked Ty Lee up and down.

“No, but you two can get lost. Under orders from Fire Lord Zuko I am now in charge and you two are to report to General Zhan this minute. You are no longer required as guards until you have been determined to be trustworthy enough to look over Azula. Toshiko and Ulani will be replacing you from now on,” Ty Lee replied, standing her ground.

“You’re funny kid, go have a nap,” Jing said, talking through a mouthful of food.

“She’s not joking, General Zhan wants to see you two immediately, I suggest you get going before he gets mad,” Ulani cut in, raising her eyebrow at the two men.

Watching as the two large men got up Ty Lee escorted them to the door and made sure they actually left. Giving the guards orders not to allow them back in without direct permission from her or General Zhan she headed back into the break room and started to prepare a plate of food for Azula. 

“Is there anything you would like us to do?” Toshiko asked, standing guard at the entrance way of the room.

“Would you please be able to get a change of clothing, some blankets, and an extra pillow for Azula and bring them to the cell once she’s had lunch? I will also need two buckets of warm water, a comb, and a wash cloth, along with a towel but that can wait until I’m in the cell to help her,” Ty Lee replied, making a mental list of what she wanted to do today.

“I will go arrange the clothing, blankets, pillows, and cleaning items now so they’ll be ready,” Toshiko replied, leaving to go find the items requested.

Softly smiling to herself Ty Lee found the blend of Uncle Iroh’s special tea and measured out the correct amount and brewed a cup of tea for Azula. Putting it onto the tray, she nodded at Ulani to follow her to the cell.

Standing in front of Azula’s cell Ty Lee tried to keep her facial expression neutral as she noticed red marks on the former princess’s neck and that the chains were pulled as tight as they could go. Azula’s eyes were glazed over, red, and a little puffy. “Ulani, can you please open the door to let me in and then release the tension on the chains so Azula can move over to the bed?” 

“Of course,” Ulani replied, opening the door and letting Ty Lee inside. Locking the door, she went over to the chain control and released most of the tension holding the girl still.

Placing the food tray she was carrying on the end of the bed, Ty Lee wrapped an arm around Azula’s waist and helped her over to the bed, getting her to sit down. “Azula, what happened?” Ty Lee asked, softly cupping the girl’s face.

Leaning into Ty Lee’s hand, Azula took a shaky breath in and looked up into caring grey eyes. “Jing and Peng,” she softly whispered, not feeling like she could say anything more.

“Here, have something to drink,” Ty Lee said, holding the cup up to Azula’s lips. “Can you please tell me what they did or would you like some food first?” she added, giving the other girl an option.

“Food,” Azula replied, relishing in the feeling of the hot liquid on the back of her sore throat.

“Okay, I have some rice with fish, buttered bread, and I snuck you in a fruit tart. Would you like me to help you eat?” Ty Lee replied, watching as Azula shook her head. “Here, try the rice and fish first.” Handing Azula the bowl and chopsticks, she watched as the girl started to quickly eat her food.

“This sauce on the fish is not bad for Southern Water Tribe food,” Azula said, chewing on a piece of the boneless fish.

“It is, I tried it for dinner last night and I was surprised by it too,” Ty Lee agreed, glad that Azula tried to make small talk.

“Ty Lee, why are you here?” Azula asked, still wondering why the girl would want to visit her after everything she had done.

“I’m here because I wanted to see you. When I found out Zuko was going to the Southern Water Tribe I asked him if I could join him and come see you. He agreed and here I am. Yes, it has been two and a half years but I’ve known you since we were children and I thought even after what we have been through you may like to see a familiar face,” Ty Lee replied, placing a hand on Azula’s knee.

“I’m guessing you now expect me to start screaming about how you and Mai betrayed me but I’m not going to. After having someone called a therapist mainly talk at me every few days, she says that what happened at Boiling Rock happened for a reason and if I want to know why I would have to talk about it. I know Mai betrayed me to save my dumb brother but I don’t understand why you did, I would like to know why,” Azula said, remaining calm as she took another mouthful of food.

“Boiling Rock was a low point for us all. I was honestly trying to do what I thought was best. You and Mai were my best friends and I couldn’t let you hurt each other. I only chi blocked you because I didn’t want you to become a murderer. Yes, people under your command had died but they didn’t die by your hand, Aang was also healed so I don’t count that but I didn’t want to see what that would do to you so I did the only thing I could think of. Deep down you are a good person Azula, I know this, I really do. Do you remember when we were children, around four years old and I fell over and scraped my knee? You came and helped me, you told me that it was going to be okay and you kissed my knee better and helped me up then spent the next hour doing whatever I wanted to do. I’ve seen every side of you and I know for a fact that you have it in you to be that sweet, caring person again,” Ty Lee explained, taking the empty bowl from Azula and handing her the plate of buttered bread.

“I do remember that day when we were little, I didn’t like seeing you sad or in pain. I still don’t. And I guess what you did at Boiling Rock was for my own good, I was only fourteen and my father expected me to be an adult and I think that’s what made me crack,” Azula replied, knowing that there was more to her cracking than the one single thing. Coughing suddenly, Azula felt a hand on her back gently rubbing between her shoulder blades.

“Here, finish your tea,” Ty Lee said, handing Azula the half empty mug, watching the girl drain the last of the drink.

“What kind of tea is this? It tastes like the tea I would get as child from Uncle Iroh,” Azula noticed, handing the empty cup back to Ty Lee.

“It’s a special blend Uncle Iroh made for you; he wanted you to have something nice to drink. I think it has jasmine, lavender, chamomile, serpentine wood, and once brewed honey is added,” Ty Lee replied, watching as Azula finished her piece of bread.

“I like it. It’s a bit weird getting fed two days in a row; I’m not used to it. Before you came yesterday the last time I had something to eat was when the nice water tribe guard gave me a bread roll a few days ago,” Azula said, handing the empty plate back to Ty Lee, happily taking the fruit tart that was offered.

“I’ll hopefully come and see you daily for the next week or two, I can promise you now that you will get food at least once a day while I’m here,” Ty Lee replied, not happy that they were essentially starving Azula.

“That would be nice. I wouldn’t mind getting cleaned up, it’s been a while and I just want to feel clean, even for a moment. I never thought that being locked away in the Southern Water Tribe would be worse than the Fire Nation. At least back home I was allowed some privileges and was able to ask for things and receive them,” Azula said, taking the last bite of her fruit tart.

Hearing footsteps coming towards them, Ty Lee looked at Ulani, “Is that Toshiko?”

“Yes, she has the items requested,” Ulani replied, watching the other guard walk over to her.

“I managed to get a change of clothes, new shoes, two new pillows and blankets, a comb, face washer, a towel, and some soap.” Standing in front of the cell, Ulani helped to hold some of the items.

“Thank you Toshiko, I’ll come get those off you now,” Ty Lee said, walking over to the cell door.

“We need to tighten the chains for a moment while we open the door, it is protocol Fire Lord Zuko put in place,” Toshiko replied, handing what she could to Ulani before tightening up the chains so Azula couldn’t move from the one spot.

Passing the empty tray out through the door, Ty Lee quickly stripped the bed before taking the items she had requested and placing them on the bare mattress. Sorting them out into two piles, she turned to the guards. “Can I please get two buckets of warm water so I can help Azula get cleaned up?” she asked, watching as they both nodded their heads and checked to make sure the door was closed properly.

“Are you okay there Azula?” Ty Lee asked, checking to see how tight the chains were, frowning when she noticed they barely had any give in them.

“I’ll live, I’ve had worse,” Azula replied, trying to move her right wrist a little as it started to hurt.

“The guards will be back soon and when they are I’ll ask them if they can remove the shackles for a little bit so we can clean you up but you need to promise me that you won’t do anything,” Ty Lee said as she placed a sheet over the mattress and tucked it in.

“Ty Lee, I’ve been chained up for almost three years. During that entire time I’ve been out of the chains for maybe two hours. I hate to admit defeat but I doubt I’d be able to do anything. I can’t fire bend because the shackles block my chi paths and I haven’t been able to train, stretch, or move much so I can’t really escape. It takes up all my energy to walk to and from the toilet when I need it,” Azula replied, being rather honest with the girl in front of her.

“I’m sorry Azula,” Ty Lee responded, knowing how hard that would have been for the former princess to say as she wasn’t one to show weakness.

“It’s okay, it’s my own fault and I’m learning to accept that, sometimes it’s just hard and I want to set everything on fire but I can’t,” Azula said, feeling like she could say whatever she wanted in front of Ty Lee and not be judged.

“That is understandable, you’re making progress and it’s a step in the right direction,” Ty Lee replied as she tucked the blankets in and fluffed up the two pillows.

“I don’t think any amount of so called progress is going to ever get me out of here. For as long as I live I’m going to be locked up in here,” Azula responded, feeling a small amount of panic set in.

“Azula, Zuko will let you out eventually. I’ve known you for what feels like forever and I can see the changes that two and half years have made. You are nothing like the person you were when we were fourteen. You are calmer, you’re not making rash decisions, and you’ve managed to not bite anyone’s head off so far,” Ty Lee said, noticing the slight change in the other girl’s voice.

“It takes an amount of restraint, trust me on that,” Azula replied, her right wrist starting to throb really badly.

Noticing a look of pain cross Azula’s face, Ty Lee stopped folding the clean clothes and walked over to the girl. “What hurts?” she asked, noticing the smallest amount of movement from Azula’s right arm.

“It’s nothing,” Azula replied, pain evident in her voice.

“Is it your right shoulder, elbow, or wrist?” Ty Lee asked, starting to lightly prod the area.

Feeling fingers against her wrist, Azula hissed in pain and tried to move away, only causing herself more pain.

“Calm down Azula, don’t struggle, it will only hurt more,” Ty Lee quickly said, holding the girl still at the waist. Making sure Azula was calm first Ty Lee did some breathing exercises with her to help with the pain. “Can you tell me what happened to your wrist?”

“It just hurts,” Azula replied, not wanting to reveal what really happened as she didn’t want to appear weaker than she already felt.

“Azula, please tell me,” Ty Lee tried, looking into gold eyes and seeing nothing but fear, something she had only seen once before.

“I don’t want to,” Azula responded, looking away.

“It’s okay, we’ll just concentrate on getting you clean and into nice new clothes today,” Ty Lee said, changing the subject as she gave the cell a once over to see if where would be best for bathing.

“Okay,” Azula agreed softly, swallowing the lump that was in her throat as she knew her body was covered in bruises. She could feel them every time she moved.

Hearing footsteps coming toward the cell, Ty Lee quickly put the clothing and shoes to one side while the towel, face washer, comb, and soap sat at the end of the bed ready to be used.

“We have the water you requested,” Toshiko said as she held a large bucket of water in her hand, Ulani holding another bucket the same size. 

“Thank you,” Ty Lee replied, watching as the cell door was opened and the two buckets placed inside before the door locked again.

“Is there anything else you require of us?” Ulani asked, standing tall outside the cell.

“Is there any way to remove the chains and shackles so Azula can properly get cleaned up?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to be able to inspect the other girl’s wrist without the shackle in the way.

“There is but General Zhan has ordered us not to do it as we don’t know if we’d be able to get the prisoner back in them,” Ulani replied, looking at Toshiko to see if she had anything to add.

“Azula, if we release the shackles will you let us put them back on without a fight in say thirty minutes?” Ty Lee asked Azula, looking the other girl dead in the eye with a no nonsense expression.

“I promise, I want to be able to move for a little bit without anything holding me down,” Azula replied, wanting Ty Lee to trust her and see that she could cooperate.

“Can you please remove them?” Ty Lee asked facing the two guards.

“We can unlock them from out here but they will need to be manually taken off one by one,” Toshiko replied, thinking that it was not a good idea but knew Ty Lee was here under orders from Fire Lord Zuko and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath any time soon.

“I’m already in here, I’ll remove them,” Ty Lee offered, as she saw the two women share a look.

“I’ll unlock them starting with the ankle shackles,” Ulani said, walking out of sight.

Hearing a clang, Ty Lee went over to Azula and looked at the shackles before removing the left one and tossing it to the corner of the room. Removing the remaining shackles, Ty Lee sneaked in a quick look at Azula’s right wrist and saw that it was very badly bruised and swollen. “Feel better?”

“A little,” Azula replied, rubbing her wrists, trying to get a little feeling back into them.

“How about we get you cleaned up now and into new clothing?” Ty Lee suggested, getting the buckets of water from next to the cell door.

“That would be nice,” Azula agreed, sitting down on the ground and removing her shoes and socks.

Feeling the temperature of the water, Ty Lee made sure it wasn’t too hot or cold before placing the wash cloth and soap into one of the buckets. “Do you need help getting your clothing off?” she asked, noticing that Azula had a little trouble removing her shoes.

“I am fine, I would like some privacy,” Azula replied, looking at the two guards who were standing outside the cell door.

“Ulani, Toshiko, can you please give us twenty minutes?” Ty Lee asked, walking over to Azula and helping her off the cold floor.

“We will be back in exactly twenty minutes,” Ulani said, turning on her heel and walking away, Toshiko following her.

Waiting until the two guards had walked away to give them some privacy Ty Lee helped Azula out of her torn shirt and jumper. Seeing the large bruises over Azula’s stomach and back, Ty Lee gasped and had a better look, placing a warm hand on the former princess’s side. They ranged in size and colour, some were black and purple while others were yellow and green. Ty Lee could tell that they were not accidental or caused by struggling. “Azula, can you please tell me who did this to you?” Ty Lee asked, noticing that the worst of them were on the girl’s front.

“I can’t, I don’t want anything worse to happen to me,” Azula replied, knowing that the two guards who did it would kill her if she said who they were.

“Azula, please, I’m here to help you and if you let me know who they are I can make sure they never step foot back inside here,” Ty Lee tried, noticing the look of fear in the other girl’s golden eyes, something she wasn’t use to seeing.

“When you leave they may come back and if they do I don’t know what they will do to me,” Azula responded, undressing the rest of the way and revealing more bruises.

“Okay, how about we get you clean,” Ty Lee said, dropping the subject for now even though she had a gut feeling who was hurting Azula, she just needed the former princess to confirm it.

Dipping the wash cloth into the warm soapy water, Ty Lee started to clean Azula’s back, inspecting the bruises as she did so. She couldn’t count how many there were in total as they had all joined into the one big bruise of various different colours. Gently prodding to make sure there was no swelling down the girl’s spine Ty Lee heard Azula sharply breathe in as her fingers made contact with her lower spine. “Azula, where hurts the most?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to be as gentle as she could be.

“Where you just touched, my ribs, my wrists, and my stomach,” Azula replied, knowing she couldn’t mask the pain as well as she once could and frankly she wasn’t really up to it.

“Okay, I’ll be as gentle as I can. Your back is now clean so I'll quickly clean the rest of you,” Ty Lee responded, moving to clean Azula’s front as she saw how much effort it was taking her to stand on her own.

Gently cleaning off Azula’s chest and stomach, Ty Lee frowned every time a pained sound was made. She didn’t like that someone had hurt Azula this bad and it made her want to march back into camp and knock every single person on their arse once she had had her way with them. Ty Lee knew that to everyone she was the happy and cheerful type but when it came down to it, Ty Lee knew that she had another side and that side would happily make an entire camp of soldiers fall to their knees.

Getting more soap onto the wash cloth Ty Lee started to wash down Azula’s arms, taking special care not to put too much pressure on the wrist areas. Taking a moment to quickly look at Azula’s left wrist she could clearly see where the protrusions in the shackles were. They had left dark bruises in perfect circles around the wrist which lined up with the chi points in the area. Thoroughly washing the rest of the former princess, Ty Lee handed Azula the wash cloth to go over whatever she felt needed doing again. Once they were finished, Ty Lee looked at the soap suds that still clung to Azula and back to the bucket.

“I don’t think you’re going to like this part but I think we need to tip the bucket of clean water over you to remove the soap suds,” Ty Lee said, picking up the full bucket and walking over to Azula.

“Just make it quick,” Azula said, feeling the warm water run over her body.

“That wasn’t too bad now was it?” Ty Lee asked, putting the empty back down, making sure not to slip and the wet floor.

“It was a thing that happened,” Azula replied, starting to shiver from the cold.

Quickly grabbing the fluffy towel, Ty Lee wrapped it around Azula and led her over to where the bed was. Helping Azula to dry herself off thoroughly, Ty Lee helped her to put on her underwear and thick pants. Making Azula sit down on the bed, Ty Lee put Azula’s socks and shoes on for her, knowing that with the amount of bruising present on her body, the former princess would not be able to do it by herself without being in pain.

Helping Azula put the clean shirt on; Ty Lee gently held the girl’s right wrist. “Can I please have a look?” she asked, moving the appendage towards herself.

“I guess,” Azula replied, knowing that pulling her wrist away would just end with more pain. 

“Can you squeeze my fingers?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to see if it was broken or not.

Squeezing Ty Lee’s fingers as hard as she could, Azula winced in pain as she felt sharp, shooting pain flare through her wrist.

“Careful Azula, we don’t want you any more injured than you already are,” Ty Lee said slightly concerned as she gently rubbed the area to help relieve some of the pain. Having a closer look she could see the exact same bruising on both wrists but there was a different kind of bruising on the right side. It looked as if someone had grabbed it and slammed it into the top part of the shackle. There was swelling, bruising, and on her inner wrist the skin looked like it had been broken.

“Can you tell me how this happened?” Ty Lee quietly asked, still feeling around the wrist to see if she could feel anything broken.

“The chain pulled very quickly and it was only the one being tightened and my wrist slammed into the shackle and got pinched at a weird angle by the protrusions. I felt something pop and it’s been sore ever since,” Azula replied, able to explain one injury.

“Do you know who did it?” Ty Lee asked, noticing the girl in front of her shiver.

“I really don’t know who it was but just my one wrist was left tightened for what felt like hours. I couldn’t feel it for about an hour after one the female Water Tribe guards released it and gave me food,” Azula replied, placing her hand on top of Ty Lee’s hand that was on her wrist.

“You’re cold; do you want to put your jumper on?” Ty Lee asked, grabbing the item of clothing.

“I’m always cold here,” Azula softly replied, allowing Ty Lee to help her put her jumper on.

“Hopefully now that you have two thick blankets on your bed you’ll be able to be warm while you sleep,” Ty Lee responded, picking up the comb. “How about we brush out your hair?”

“I would like that but I can’t do it with my wrist,” Azula replied, a look of defeat crossing her face.

“I will comb it out for you, just like we used to do when we had sleepovers. You have always had pretty hair, it always felt soft and smelled pretty,” Ty Lee said, sitting on the mattress behind Azula.

“I did like how you used to braid it when I stayed at your house. They were some of the only times I didn’t need to fear that my father would do something, anything really,” Azula replied, feeling the comb beginning to get some of the knots out that were in her hair.

“Once I finish brushing it out I’ll put it up in a braid for you so it doesn’t knot as quick,” Ty Lee responded, working on a knot at the back of Azula’s head.

“I would like that,” Azula replied, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in, enjoying the feeling of having someone care for her.

Brushing Azula’s hair, Ty Lee made sure she got all of the knots out and did it as gently as she could. Running her fingers over Azula’s scalp she heard the other girl moan softly and it made her smile. Separating the hair into different sections Ty Lee started to braid it and when she finished she tied it off at the end. 

“All brushed out and braided,” Ty Lee said, moving off the bed and to face Azula.

“Ty Lee, it’s not often I’ve said this but thank you,” Azula replied, averting eye contact as she wasn’t used to anyone helping her out of their own free will.

“Azula, look at me, it is okay to need help and it is okay to thank other people. Doing either does not make you weak, it shows strength and character and I know you have both,” Ty Lee said with a finger under Azula’s chin, making sure she looked the other girl in the eye.

“Growing up I was told never to apologise and when I did do it my father would beat it out of me to teach me a lesson. My mother would always make sure I did but I was frightened of my father while I knew that my mother would never hurt me but you know she left me with him and always favoured my brother. I think she secretly hated me but then who wouldn’t I’m nothing but a monster,” Azula said, her voice rose as she was overcome with emotion.

“Azula, you are not a monster, who cares what other people say only you know the truth deep down in your own heart. I’ve seen the person who you were and now who you are, and even though you may think of yourself in a different light I can still see the real you hiding behind those golden eyes. I see the little girl who would hold my hand and skip through the long grass with me and would give me hugs and kisses when I felt sad or just because she wanted to see me smile,” Ty Lee rebutted, making sure that Azula knew how she saw her.

“I still want to make you smile but I don’t think I’ll ever get to again,” Azula replied, letting out a sigh.

“Seeing you smile makes me smile, and I would really like to see that smile again,” Ty Lee responded, placing a hand on Azula’s knee.

“I wish I felt like I could smile but I can’t, I’m locked away in an ice cell and I’m treated worse than a prisoner held by the Dai Le,” Azula said as she rubbed her eyes and winced from pain that shot through her wrist.

“I do think that wrist of yours is sprained, I don’t like it. It doesn’t feel broken but I can see that you’re in pain so I’d like to wrap it if possible,” Ty Lee said, not liking to see the former princess in pain.

“It doesn’t feel broken to me but it does hurt a lot, Father broke my wrist once when I was seven years old and it feels nothing like that,” Azula replied, stifling a yawn.

Hearing footsteps becoming louder and louder, Ty Lee knew that Toshiko and Ulani were on their way back. Waiting for them to arrive she got up from the bed and stood in front of the door. “Ulani, Toshiko, what is protocol about medical aid here? Is Azula allowed a bandage for her wrist, I think it’s badly sprained,” Ty Lee asked, wanting to be able to help Azula and to get her wrist to heal.

“Protocol is that two guards have to confirm an injury and with approval from a commanding officer a bandage may be placed around the injured body part,” Toshiko explained, looking to Ulani for confirmation.

“Azula, come here please,” Ty Lee asked the other girl, watching as she made her way over to her. Gently taking Azula’s wrist in her hand, she showed the two guards where it was injured. “As you can see it’s severely bruised and swollen, the skin has even broken on the inside.”

“That does look injured to me, what about you Toshiko?” Ulani stated, making sure to remain out of arms reach from the prisoner.

“I agree, I’ll go get a bandage,” Toshiko replied. Walking to the break room, Toshiko entered the room and went over to the cupboard and pulled out a box, retrieving a bandage from inside of it. Heading back to the cell she handed Ty Lee the bandage through the bars.

Guiding Azula back to the bed she sat them down and placed Azula’s injured wrist in her lap. Wrapping the bandage around it, Ty Lee made sure it was secure before tying it off. “How does that feel?”

“It feels a lot better already,” Azula replied, looking at her bandaged wrist, yawning again.

“I think you should try and get some sleep Azula, you look exhausted,” Ty Lee said, guiding Azula to stand while she pulled down the blankets, getting her to lay down.

“Ty Lee, it’s been thirty minutes we need to reattach the shackles,” Toshiko said, reminding the girl that they needed to be placed back on.

“Can the shackles reach the bed?” Ty Lee asked, wanting Azula to get some much needed rest.

“They can, the chains were released earlier so they will move with ease,” Toshiko replied, watching as Ty Lee went and picked up the left ankle shackle.

“These are heavier than I expected,” Ty Lee said as she walked over to Azula. “Is it okay if I put these back on?”

“Go ahead, I’m not going to move though, I’m not freezing to death for once,” Azula replied, watching as Ty Lee moved her blankets and reattached the shackles one by one, making sure she was covered again when she was done.

“How does your wrist feel now?” Ty Lee asked, hoping that the shackle wasn’t going to cause more pain even though she knew it was a contributing factor.

“It still hurts but it feels better than before, resting it flat is helping,” Azula replied, trying to stifle another yawn.

“Get some sleep Azula, I’ll come back in the morning and see you,” Ty Lee said, exiting the room through the door that was opened for her.


	5. Chapter 5

Pacing in circles around the fire inside of her hut, Ty Lee was stumped on what to do. It was now day three of her being in the camp, day two since Zuko left, and she knew she couldn’t trust anyone around her. The guards had been listening to her and meeting her every request in regards to Azula but for some things she had to see General Zhan about and he was starting to become a little uncooperative. He favoured certain guards from the Fire Nation and had tried to slip them into the roster multiple times but Ty Lee would have any of it. She had her own thoughts on why he wanted to put them back on shift and the main one which scared her a lot was that he wanted them back on the inside to make sure that Azula said nothing about who had hurt her.

Getting Azula to speak about what had happened to her was like getting blood out of a stone. Ty Lee could see that Azula was still too scared to talk but each day Ty Lee felt like Azula was getting closer and closer to opening up to her. On the third day that Ty Lee visited the former princess she brought another tray of food and sat on the end of Azula’s bed and told her about what she had been doing the last few years. Ty Lee told her tales about how she became a Kyoshi Warrior and how she was sent back to the Fire Nation to protect Zuko and Mai. Azula grumbled a little over that but Ty Lee continued to tell her about what had happened and why she eventually left the Kyoshi Warriors. Azula clung to her every word, wanting to know more, she asked questions and genuinely seemed interested in the answers that were given.

On the fourth day Ty Lee had visited Azula again keeping true to her promise of visiting every day while she could. She brought more food, this time adding more to the bowls and plates as Azula got reaccustomed to eating daily. Ty Lee brushed out Azula’s hair and braided it once more; she helped the former princess get clean and changed the bandage on her wrist. She took note that some of the bruising was starting to slightly fade and that no new bruises were present. Azula spent some time asking Ty Lee about the outside world beyond her prison cell, she wanted to know about the kingdoms and how everyone was adjusting to the new order. Ty Lee answered as best she could and told Azula about the time she visited the Northern Air Temple with Zuko as he had a meeting with the Avatar there. 

Hearing a knock coming from outside her hut, Ty Lee stopped pacing, a habit she had had since childhood, and went over to the door, opening it. “Hi,” she said, trying to sound as cheerful as she could.

“Hello, I’ve come to let you know that dinner is now being served,” a male warrior replied, leaving as quickly as he could.

Slipping a deep red jacket on over her shirt and jumper, Ty Lee added some more wood to the fire in her hut before heading outside to the camp fire to grab something to eat. Making her way over to the food table, Ty Lee grabbed a tray and got herself a bowl of rice, a bowl of fish soup, and some puffin-seal sausages along with a couple of steamed dumplings. 

Taking a seat near to the fire Ty Lee watched those around her as she ate her food. Some of the Southern Water Tribe warriors had gathered in one corner to her left. Ty Lee could barely hear what they were saying but she could hear them mention something about jerky. Thinking nothing of it she moved her attention to her right and observed a mixed group of door guards looking into the fire and sipping on some tea while they ate. Directly in front of her were a loud group of soldiers and General Zhan, they were feasting on roasted meat and sausages, food flying from their mouths as they laughed. Keeping a closer eye on the group Ty Lee saw that the two soldiers behind General Zhan were Jing and Peng, the two soldiers who she didn’t trust at all, the soldiers she was pretty sure were the ones hurting Azula.

Taking a minute to look around her she noted where everyone was, there were a few people sitting by themselves eating like she was, and then there were others that sat in pairs or groups of three. Noticing Noa, Uki and Meela sitting together she offered them a small smile and continued to eat her food.

Drawing her attention back to the loud group in front of her, Ty Lee watched as General Zhan said something to Jing and Peng, looking serious as he did so. Feeling a cold chill run through her body she didn’t know what to think, were they planning something or were they just talking about something entirely different? Keeping an eye on them while finishing her meal, she once again sat by the fire and waited until everyone had retired into their tents and huts.

Heading back to her hut, Ty Lee stopped a few meters away, noticing some movement coming from the back of the camp. Seeing two large figures attempting to move as quietly as they could, Ty Lee watched as they started to head in the direction of the prison. Following them as closely as she could while remaining out of sight, Ty Lee got a glimpse of their faces once one of them fire bent a small flame and then she knew immediately that her earlier instincts were right and that Jing and Peng were up to something and it was probably not good.

Staying off the ice path that the Water Tribe had carved out, Ty Lee stayed hidden behind the barriers and followed the two men, watching their every move, trying to hear what they were saying to each other. Knowing the area somewhat okay from doing the trek from the camp to the prison daily, she knew it took about twenty minutes to get to the front door. Rubbing her forehead Ty Lee knew that she needed to do something before Jing and Peng could get inside and do who-knows-what to Azula.

Trying to get ahead of the two men, Ty Lee ran as fast as she could up the snow covered hill and waited for the two soldiers to appear. The snow had fallen rather heavily that afternoon and Ty Lee knew that part of the ice path had been snowed in so a small side path had been cleared. Letting the darkness of the night cover her location, she watched as the two men appeared, a small fire showing their exact location. Just as Ty Lee had predicted they veered off the small path and started to walk through the snow. Ty Lee smirked to herself knowing that she had the upper hand and now that she could hear what they were saying rather clearly she knew what they were doing and she knew she didn’t like it.

“Once we get to the prison we’ll force the guards to open the door and then we’ll go pay that thing a visit. She’s blabbed I know it, it’s why we’re not on the roster anymore, she deserves what she’s given,” Jing said, going over the plan with Peng.

“Exactly, General Zhan can’t be trusted anymore either, I can’t believe he wouldn’t tell us who was on duty and that he is listening to the teenage Fire Lord. When I get my hands on that Fire Nation so-called princess I swear I’m going to leave her close to dead,” Peng added, grabbing the air in front of him as if he was strangling it.

Feeling the rage building up inside of her Ty Lee knew that she had to stop them before they could make it to Azula. The guards, both inside and outside the prison were in danger and so was Azula, and Azula’s life being threatened was something that made Ty Lee’s blood boil.

Looking back on her training, Ty Lee knew exactly what she had to do. Her time with the Kyoshi Warriors taught her some new moves and she couldn’t wait to use them. She circled around the back of the two men, remaining as low as she could. She staked them out for a few minutes analysing their every move, coming up with a plan to take them out. Making sure they didn’t turn back and continued off the path, she leapt through the air placing well thought out jabs on their pressure points, blocking both of their chi’s in six quick hits each. The two men hit the ground unable to move their arms or legs, not able to get a hit in or see who subdued them, their bending disabled for at least the next few hours. 

Leaving the two men face down in the snow, she could hear them screaming out as she headed back to camp as quickly as she could. A light snow started covering up her footsteps as she made her way back to her hut going parallel to the path carved out. Seeing the last of the fire dying down in the distance she went around the back of the camp until she could see her hut and swiftly entered it, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Taking her shoes off by the door, Ty Lee placed some wood on the dwindling fire and hoped that the embers would catch alight. Slipping her thick jacket off Ty Lee threw it onto the chair and entered the small bathroom. Doing a quick clean up of herself she put on clean clothes and crawled into bed.

Lying wide awake wrapped up in her sleeping bag, Ty Lee kept thinking about Azula and what could have possibly been done to her tonight if she didn’t stop the two men. Jing and Peng were twice the size of her and yet she was able to take them both down within seconds. When they were able to move again she had no idea what they were going to do but it was something she would worry about later on. 

Azula had been on her mind constantly the last few days and Ty Lee put it down to the situation as she was worried about the girl. There were still a lot of questions left unanswered and the bruises were still very much present over Azula’s body. Every time she tried to talk Azula about what had happened to her she was met with either silence or Azula telling her she couldn’t answer. Ty Lee could see the fear behind Azula’s golden eyes, they darted from side to side before she said anything and she was constantly on edge.

Staring into the fire Ty Lee felt her eyes starting to get heavy, there was still a lot on her mind and it was taking her a while to sort through it all as she couldn’t place some of her feelings. Not sure she could stay awake for much longer; Ty Lee did her best to clear her mind before she fell into a restless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Waking to the sound of banging on her hut door, Ty Lee groaned and yawned before getting up to see what the commotion was about. Slipping her boots on, she exited her hut and came face to face with General Zhan.

“Good morning Ty Lee, I may require your help to find out who attacked two of my soldiers last night,” General Zhan greeted, getting straight to the point.

“That’s horrible, what happened to them?” Ty Lee asked, pretending as if she knew nothing.

“Two Fire Nation soldiers and former guards, Peng and Jing, were found face down in the snow just off the path to the prison during a shift rotation. I’ve spoken to them directly and they say they saw and heard nothing but it felt like they were attacked,” General Zhan explained, wanting to get to the bottom of it as quickly as he could.

“I have a question first, why were they on the path to the prison? It seems very suspicious that they were making their way there after they got pulled off the roster, it’s like they have something to hide almost,” Ty Lee replied, raising an eyebrow at the general.

“I do not know why they were heading to the prison, if they were all I know is that my two men were attacked and it could be someone in this camp,” General Zhan said, changing the subject.

“Have these two men said exactly what happened to them? Was there any bending involved? That might help to narrow it down,” Ty Lee asked, stifling a yawn as she looked off into the distance, the light of the sun only just illuminating the camp.

“They were in pretty bad shape when they were taken to the medical tent; the snow fall had mostly covered them up. I spoke to them briefly and they said that something hit them in the back and then they couldn’t move at all. They also added that they felt as if whatever hit them was sharp and hard,” General Zhan explained, not looking impressed at all with the situation.

“If something or someone hit them it would leave a mark, maybe have them checked out thoroughly and go from there. If someone did hit them I doubt it was a water or fire bender or anyone from this camp really. Maybe they just fell over and hit their backs and were too embarrassed to say so, they are not exactly the most fluid people on their feet,” Ty Lee replied, giving General Zhan different ideas to go follow up on.

“Maybe we have an intruder lurking outside of the prison or camp ground, I will lead my own party out to go have a look,” General Zhan responded, ignoring Ty Lee’s comment about Jing and Peng being clumsy.

“While you do that I’m going to go up to the prison and check on Azula and make sure nothing happened to her last night,” Ty Lee replied, bidding the General farewell as she headed back into her hut.

Sitting down on her bed, Ty Lee rubbed her face and moved her jaw feeling and hearing it click, relieving some of the tension that had built up over night. Getting changed into warmer clothing, she grabbed her jacket off the chair and slid it on before leaving her hut and making her way up along the ice path and to the front doors of the prison.

Entering the prison she greeted the guards and followed them to Azula’s cell. Inside Azula was lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling, wide awake, not saying a word.

“Morning,” Ty Lee said, stifling a yawn; it was way too early to be awake.

“It’s very early, I wasn’t expecting you until later,” Azula replied, sitting up on her bed.

“If you’d like I can come back later,” Ty Lee offered, wanting to let Azula decide if she wanted company or not.

“It’s fine, you can stay,” Azula responded, standing up and preparing herself for the shackles and chains to tighten.

“Good, I wanted to see you,” Ty Lee smiled genuinely. Watching as Uki tightened the chains just enough to allow them to open the door.

Entering the cell, Ty Lee plopped herself down on the end of the bed and patted the spot next to her.

Feeling the chains release all pressure and tension Azula sat down on the bed, her legs crossed, facing Ty Lee. Watching the guards as they left, Azula raised an eyebrow at the other girl. “So, what happened with two of the guards? I overheard them talking during shift change saying something happened and they were attacked and couldn’t move,” Azula quietly asked, wanting the gossip.

Getting up from her spot and quickly checking to make sure the guards weren’t around, Ty Lee sat back down and leant in close to Azula. “If I tell you, you have to swear you won’t tell another soul,” Ty Lee said, looking Azula dead in the eyes.

“I promise I won’t say a word,” Azula replied, taking hold of Ty Lee’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Okay, now I need you to confirm something for me first and I know you’re scared but I need an answer. Were Peng and Jing the two guards who hurt you?” Ty Lee asked, holding onto both of Azula’s hands.

“They were,” Azula replied barely above a whisper, her eyes darting around the room.

“Okay, can you tell me what they did?” Ty Lee tried, gently cupping Azula’s face.

“I can’t say,” Azula responded, enjoying the feeling of the warmth against her cheek.

“If I tell you what happened with the guards would you maybe tell me?” Ty Lee tried again, gently caressing Azula’s cheek with her thumb.

“Maybe I can, I’m not sure,” Azula agreed. “Now tell me what happened please, I want to know.”

“Okay, so, last night while I was in the camp of soldiers I stayed up by the fire until everyone went to bed and when I was heading to bed I noticed two shadows moving away from the camp. I followed them and noticed that they were heading toward here, one of them fire bent a small flame for light and I saw that it was Jing and Peng. I overheard what they were saying which wasn’t very nice and I realised I had stop them before they got here. I may have sneaked up behind them and chi blocked them as hard as I could and left them in the snow to rot like they deserved. General Zhan woke me up today and demanded if I knew anything and I played innocent, acted as if I didn’t know anything, said they probably tripped over their own feet,” Ty Lee quickly said as quietly as she could, making sure no one other than Azula could hear her.

“Ty Lee, I knew you could be sneaky but I never expected it, I’m impressed, those monsters should have frozen to death,” Azula replied, smiling a little.

“I didn’t know what I was capable of either but once I heard they were after you, I just couldn’t let them hurt you, I hate seeing you hurt and in pain,” Ty Lee responded, moving a fallen piece of hair to behind Azula’s ear.

“They were coming after me?” Azula asked as she hugged her knees to her chest.

“Azula, they won’t come here, I’ve kicked them off the roster and they’ll be shipped back to the Fire Nation for punishment but I need to know what they have done so I can advise Zuko on what to do when he comes back,” Ty Lee said, trying to reassure the broken girl in front of her.

“They hurt me Ty Lee. Every time they swapped onto shift they would make sure no one was around and then they would tighten my chains and shackles as hard as they could go and they would come into my cell. They would tell me things like I’m unwanted, I’m unloved, I’m a monster, that I’m going to pay for what happened to their families during the war. They blamed me for what Father did, he killed either their brothers or fathers or both, I really didn’t listen because they were hurting me when they were spitting their threats into my face. They also told me that they were going to kill me one day and that they would do it over time starting with slowly cutting into me and burning me from the inside. They told me that I was worthless and would never be able to contribute anything to the world except for hate and hurt and that my entire existence is apparently a mockery to everyone who was part of the hundred year war, they said so many mean things. I know words shouldn’t hurt but after over a year of hearing it while they came into my cell, it starts to eat away at you and you start believing it,” Azula replied, not able to make eye contact with Ty Lee.

“Azula, I need you to listen to me, you were a fourteen year old girl, you were petrified of your father, and you did what he said to do to survive. He was abusive and he took that out on you, something you didn’t deserve. I know the real you and I know that none of that is true. I care about you a lot, you are one of my closest friends and I know that we have had some disagreements and moments but as what I’ve come to realise, no matter what we can come together again and get through anything that life throws at us.” Pulling Azula in for hug, Ty Lee let a small smile grace her face when she felt Azula relax into her body.

Holding onto Ty Lee as tight as she could, Azula couldn’t remember the last time someone had shown that they cared about her. It felt like a life time to her as each day grew longer and longer. “Ty Lee, I’m sorry I imprisoned you after you stopped me from trying to kill Mai, I wasn’t in a good state of mind. I felt betrayed and everything just seemed to fall apart around me, I had no one and everything had gotten to me. I kept hearing things and seeing things that looked like my mother, it drove me crazy and I snapped. Two and a half years in prison has given me plenty of time to think and now after talking to you I can see what you did was to protect me, you weren’t trying to hurt me, you were thinking of my best interests.” Feeling hot tears run down her cheeks Azula felt Ty Lee pull her close, a hand rubbing slow circles into her back.

“It’s okay Azula, I forgive you, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again if I have my way,” Ty Lee softly said, trying to calm down the crying girl in her arms.

“Jing and Peng were so horrible to me, they would pull the chains and shackles as tight as they would go, leaving the protrusions buried into my chi points for hours on end. They would come into my cell and would punch me in the stomach so hard that once I started to cough up blood. They would punch me in the back until I started screaming out in pain, it still hurts to sit or lay down. I would be kicked wherever they felt like and I have had broken ribs because of it. They would also bring in buckets of ice cold water and a wash cloth and hold it over my face until I almost passed out and would do it repeatedly while laughing at me. They would also not give me anything to eat or drink for days on end. One time they stripped me down to my underwear and made me lay on the ice cold floor until I turned blue. Before the guards changed they came in and held me by the throat, cutting of my air, threatening that if I said anything they would kill me then and there. Peng also threatened to do more than just hit me and I’m scared of them Ty Lee, I really am. I don’t even know if I can fire bend any more since the shackles have most likely blocked my chi paths permanently,” Azula shakily said, feeling a little better that she was able to tell someone about the horrible things that had happened to her. 

“That is horrible, I’m so sorry that happened to you Azula. I will definitely see that they are dealt with the harshest way possible and are shipped far far away from here,” Ty Lee replied, trying to remain calm on the outside while her blood boiled strongly within her. “Is it okay if I let Zuko know so he can punish them?”

“Ship them to the Northern Water Tribe and see what happens to them there,” Azula suggested, knowing the two men wouldn’t be looked upon kindly in the north. “Zuko probably won’t care.”

“I wish we could and he’s your brother, he cares deep down,” Ty Lee replied, adjusting herself so she could see Azula’s face. Wiping away the tears from the girl’s smooth cheeks, she touched their foreheads together and took a deep breath in. 

“I don’t think I have apologised more in my life than I have today,” Azula said, trying a lighter topic of conversation. “Don’t expect it often.”

“I will only expect it when you mean it,” Ty Lee replied, knowing it was a very rare thing to happen.

“I feel tired. I feel like I’ve been drained of all energy,” Azula said, feeling the heavy feeling of sleep setting in.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Ty Lee asked, concerned that it was still too cold.

“I kept waking up every hour and I was tossing and turning the entire night,” Azula replied, watching as Ty Lee got up and helped her to slide into bed, tucking her in as best she could.

“Try and get some rest Azula, I’ll come and visit you later today, I might go take a nap too,” Ty Lee said, placing a gentle kiss on Azula’s forehead before motioning to one of the guards to come and let her out of the cell.

Exiting the cell, Ty Lee walked with the guards down the long corridor and to the break room. “When Azula wakes up can you let whoever is on to give her something to eat?”

“We can do that Ma’am, shift change in a few hours,” Noa replied, standing on guard by the entrance way.

“Thank you,” Ty Lee responded as she bit into a piece of fruit. “I need to go see General Zhan and make sure his soldiers are okay.”

“Who cares about those two pigs, they should have frozen to death,” Uki said, not giving a care in the world as she buttered some bread.

“We can’t always get what we want unfortunately,” Ty Lee replied before leaving the room and heading back to the camp.

Taking in the fresh air around her on the walk back to camp, Ty Lee noticed that the water benders had been through and reopened the ice path, the barriers on either side were now a few inches taller and thicker. Seeing the roaring camp fire in the distance she was glad it was still lit. The snow fall from the day before had made it twice as cold as it usually was. Smelling freshly cooked stew, Ty Lee closed the gap between where she was and the camp and got herself a warm bowl of food before she had to go see the general.

Eating the last few mouthfuls of food that sat in the bottom of her bowl, Ty Lee couldn’t get what Azula told her out of her head. She knew it was bad but it was worse than what she expected. Getting up from her seat she put her dirty bowl aside to be cleaned and headed for General Zhan who was talking to two soldiers.

“General Zhan when you have a minute may I please have a word?” Ty Lee asked, being as courteous as she could be.

“I’m actually free right now, how can I help you?” General Zhan asked, dismissing the two soldiers.

“The two soldiers that were found buried in the snow, I was thinking that we should be watching them. I had a look around the area and I could see absolutely nothing in sight, I think they may have been trying to flee or break into the prison but that’s just my opinion. I’ve seen them during meals and they don’t seem happy here,” Ty Lee said, trying to get the general to agree to watch over them.

“For now I have a guard watching over them as they recover in the medical tent. They still haven’t said why they were near the path and I am even finding it very odd I must admit. When you went to the prison how was the former princess?” General Zhan inquired as he starting to head towards the fire, signalling for Ty Lee to walk with him.

“Azula is doing the best she can, she hasn’t been sleeping well and her entire body is sore, she was having a nap when I left, I was personally thinking of doing the same thing,” Ty Lee replied, glad to be able to warm herself up in front of the fire.

“I did wake you up rather early this morning, my apologies,” General Zhan responded, watching the people move around the camp.

“The sun wasn’t even up but it’s okay. Please let me know if the two soldiers provide a reason for being out in the dark so late at night, or if their condition changes. I’m going to go rest for a few hours,” Ty Lee replied, bidding the man farewell before making her way over to her hut.

Entering her hut, Ty Lee started up the fire and sat by it. Kicking her shoes off she watched the flames dance around one another mesmerizingly. Letting her mind wander, Ty Lee thought back to when she was in the circus, it was something she missed dearly but something she couldn’t see herself going back to once her sisters decided to join. 

Yawning loudly, Ty Lee stood up and took her jacket off and placed it on the back of her chair. Climbing into bed she snuggled into her sleeping bag and tried to meditate to clear her mind.


	7. Chapter 7

“What do you mean they were found buried in the snow near the prison?” a loud voice asked, stirring Ty Lee from her sleep.

“Two soldiers found them in the early hours of this morning Fire Lord Zuko, we are still yet to find out what happened,” a voice, General Zhan, said, trying to keep the peace.

“You better find out why immediately, we don’t need traitors in the Fire Nation army,” a stoic voice said who Ty Lee picked out as being Mai.

Rubbing her eyes, Ty Lee got out of bed, used the bathroom, and put her jacket and shoes back on. Heading out of the hut to where the Fire Lord and his fiancée stood, she greeted them happily, giving Mai a quick hug.

“Ty Lee, how have the last few days been?” Zuko asked, getting right to the point.

“Let’s head inside of the hut first, I have a lot to tell you,” Ty Lee replied, watching as Zuko marched his way into the largest hut that was designed especially for him when he visited.

“Spill Ty Lee, what is Azula’s state. Zuko mentioned to me that she was badly beaten up, explain,” Mai said, sitting down in the largest chair as Zuko lit the fire.

“Well, yes she has been very badly beaten up; she has bruises covering her entire front, back, legs, and wrists. The two guards that were found in the snow I was the one who incapacitated them as I followed them and overheard their plans to break into the prison and kill Azula. They are the two guards who have also been torturing Azula every shift they have. They tell her harsh things, blame her for their families dying and have taken all their anger out on her. She’s broken and very scared. Zuko, after you left a few days ago I went back in to check on her and she had bruising around her neck, they tried strangling her so she wouldn’t speak. It took me until this morning to get the information out of Azula about who was hurting her. They have held freezing cold wash cloths over her mouth until she passed out, they have stripped her of her clothing and made her lay on the freezing cold ground until she turned blue and almost died, I’m sure they have done more but Azula won’t say,” Ty Lee replied, feeling the anger within her rise every time she listed off something that they had done to the former princess.

“It takes a lot to break Azula, I would like to see this for myself before action is taken,” Mai responded, nodding at both Zuko and Ty Lee, wanting them to follow her.

“I don’t think we can trust General Zhan by the way, he hasn’t been very helpful and he sometimes seemed to have not wanted me to go visit Azula and take care of her, I can’t put my finger on it but something isn’t right with him. I’ve seen him with Jing and Peng, the two soldiers who hurt Azula, and they seem oddly friendly, too friendly,” Ty Lee said as she walked alongside Mai.

“The General seemed very off when we got here, like he wasn’t telling me something,” Zuko replied, scratching his head.

“He’s a general of a prison, barely any of them can be trusted, I speak from experience,” Mai responded, picking up the pace as they headed towards the prison.

Continuing their small talk, the three of them made their way to the front of the prison and greeted the guards. Waiting for the large door to open, they watched as both fire and water was bent into the door to raise it. Entering the prison they headed towards Azula’s cell, not acknowledging the guards that were on duty.

“Hello sister,” Zuko said, standing outside of Azula’s cell with Mai and Ty Lee next to him.

“Zuko,” Azula replied, standing up as straight as she could. “Mai.”

“Azula, Ty Lee has let me know of the two guards who have injured you, I need you to tell me yourself who they are,” Zuko said, looking his sister over, trying to remain as expressionless as he could while seeing the slight bruising on Azula’s neck.

“I have already told Ty Lee, I don’t know why you need me to repeat myself,” Azula stated, not wanting the other guards to overhear her naming them.

“Toshiko, Ulani, can one of you please let me into the cell?” Ty Lee asked, as she turned to Zuko and Mai. “How about we just show you instead?”

Entering Azula’s cell without a problem, Ty Lee watched as the door was closed and the guards went back to what they were doing. 

“Ty Lee what do you plan on doing?” Mai asked, staring at the younger girl.

“I’m going to show you,” Ty Lee replied. “Azula come here please?” she asked, waiting until the former princess was standing up next to her. “Is it okay if I show Zuko and Mai your stomach and back?”

“It’s fine,” Azula quietly replied, feeling somewhat better with Ty Lee close by.

“I’m going to show you what they have done,” Ty Lee said, gently lifting Azula’s shirt up to reveal her stomach. “They are over her back too, just as bad.” Turning Azula around, Ty Lee made sure they both got a good look at what had been done to the girl.

“I’m going to kill them when I get my hands on whoever did that,” Zuko fumed, his fists clenching.

“What happened to your wrist?” Mai asked, noticing that it was bandaged.

“What do you think happened to it?” Azula sarcastically asked in reply, knowing that Mai was smarter than that.

“One of the guards injured it by yanking the chain and shackle as tight as it would go,” Ty Lee interjected, not wanting the two to start a fight.

“Azula, tell me who did this to you so I can take them back to the Fire Nation to serve out their punishment,” Zuko demanded, hating to see his little sister injured even after all that she had done.

Shaking her head, Azula looked to Ty Lee for support. “I can’t tell you, they’ll come back if I do.”

“They have done some serious damage to her Zuko, I would suggest we ask Katara if she would be willing to help heal some of the internal injuries most likely present. Azula, if we say who we think it is can you nod your head if we are correct?” Mai asked, thinking of an alternative way to get the information required.

“I can,” Azula replied, feeling Ty Lee hold onto her hand.

“Was it Peng and Jing?” Zuko asked, after he had made sure that all guards were out of earshot.

Nodding her head twice, Azula didn’t know what would happen after her brother left the prison. 

“I’m going to go back to the camp and speak to General Zhan and have the two guards arrested and shipped back to the Fire Nation as soon as possible. Ty Lee, can you please stay with Azula in case anything happens? I don’t trust anyone here anymore,” Zuko said, not waiting for an answer as he stormed out of the prison yelling at one of the guards to remove the shackles from his sister.

“Why would he remove the chains and shackles?” Azula asked, feeling the shackles all loosen at once, ready to be removed.

“I don’t know why but I think Zuko thinks something will happen and I don’t know what it is,” Ty Lee replied, helping Azula to remove the chains and shackles, tossing them into each corner of the room.

“I shouldn’t have said anything, I should have kept my mouth shut,” Azula responded, sitting down on the bed, bringing her knees up to her chest.

“Azula, you did the right thing telling Zuko, do you think that Jing and Peng deserve to walk free for their actions? If you ask me I think they should be chucked in a prison with some of the most dangerous and see how they do in there,” Ty Lee said as she began to pace back and forth.

“I am apparently one of the most dangerous and I couldn’t do anything to stop them. I’m nothing but weak, I couldn’t defend myself, I couldn’t stop them, I’m nothing but a waste of oxygen, a monster,” Azula replied, her voice full of emotion as she walked around her cell.

“You are not weak; you are one of the strongest people I know. I don’t know of anyone who could have gone through what you did and still come out the other side. You’re here for a reason Azula, and you are not a waste of anything, you are amazing and even through you have been through two and a half years in prison I can still see the fire deep down inside of you,” Ty Lee responded, stopping in front of Azula and making her look at her. “Azula, you are one of the most courageous people I know, you have survived so much and you are my friend, there is still plenty of time to go out there and right your wrongs,” she added, trying to give Azula a bit of a pep talk.

“I would like to right my wrongs, being in here has shown me that being mean, nasty, and horrible gets you nowhere, all it does is bring pain and that is something I don’t want to do anymore. My therapist person works with me for hours on end and I can see what I did was wrong, I can see how I treated my friends was wrong. If I ever get out of here I do want to make it up to you, to Mai, and the whole of Team Avatar,” Azula replied, knowing that she was now ready to face her past.

“That would be a wonderful thing to do and if you’ll let me I will be by your side the entire way,” Ty Lee offered beginning to feel the fluttering in the bottom of her stomach, a feeling she thought she lost long ago.

“I would really like that Ty Lee,” Azula said, a small smile on her face as she got up and hugged the other girl, a slight blush making its way across her face.

Hugging Azula back, Ty Lee buried her head in the other girl’s shoulder and enjoyed the feeling while she could. It had been two and a half years since she last hugged Azula this tightly and she didn’t realise how much she missed it until now.

“What do you think is happening outside of these walls?” Azula asked, knowing Ty Lee may have somewhat of an idea.

“I really don’t know, they would have only just made it back into camp by now but Zuko was pretty mad when he stormed out of here,” Ty Lee replied, sitting them both down on the bed.

“Whenever Zuko stormed off like that when we were younger something usually ended up on fire,” Azula stated, inspecting the bandage on her right wrist.

“How is your wrist feeling today?” Ty Lee asked, worried that it was hurting the other girl.

“It still hurts but not as badly as before,” Azula replied, going in for another hug and resting her head on Ty Lee’s shoulder.

Enjoying the feeling of being close to Azula, Ty Lee let it soak in for a few more moments before she went back to carefully listening for any changes from within the prison. She didn’t know if anything would happen but if something were to go down she wanted to be prepared.

\---

“Zuko, remember to remain calm when we get back into town, you don’t want to show your hand,” Mai calmly said as she hurried behind the Fire Lord.

“Mai, they have abused my sister and put her through hell, he’s going to answer for his crimes,” Zuko replied, entering the small camp.

Heading to the middle of the camp, Zuko motioned for his soldiers to accompany him as he looked around for the man he was after. “GENERAL ZHAN, GET OUT HERE NOW AND FACE ME!” Zuko loudly demanded, feeling himself begin to fume.

“Fire Lord Zuko how may I help you?” General Zhan calmly asked as he came out of the medical tent.

“You have two minutes to explain why you have allowed two of your guards to physically and emotionally abuse my sister the entire time she has been under your protection,” Zuko seethed, barely able to control his temper.

“I would hardly call it abuse Fire Lord, what they have done to your sister is nowhere close to what she and your father did to their families,” General Zhan replied, accepting a cup of tea from one of the soldiers.

“I was with Azula the entire time Ozai had her on the hunt for the Avatar, she technically didn’t kill anyone, everyone she came face to face with is still alive today,” Mai interjected, a bored look crossing her face as the General raised an eyebrow.

“The prisoner was still a part of the previous Fire Lord’s plan for world domination and they are what directly caused the death of many people in our families. I think what was done to her was fair, retribution almost,” General Zhan replied as he sipped his tea, keeping eye contact with Zuko.

“I was part of my father’s plan for world domination too; I played an active part in hunting the Avatar down for far longer than my sister did. What has been done to her is not acceptable and both Jing and Peng will be shipped back to the Fire Nation to pay for their crimes. They will get what they deserve and I will make sure, personally, that their punishment fits their crime,” Zuko replied, making sure his words came through loud and clear.

“I don’t believe that is fair at all Fire Lord Zuko,” General Zhan replied, with the slightest hint of anger in his voice as he put his tea cup down.

“Also, since you were the officer in charge of making sure that my sister was safe and you couldn’t do that and you allowed the soldiers under your duty to abuse her, you are now stripped of your rank and you will also be imprisoned with any soldier here that has laid a finger on my sister,” Zuko stated, motioning for his guards to grab the general.

“THAT IS AN ATROCITY!” General Zhan yelled, getting into a defensive position as he bent fire at the guards moving towards him.

Making sure that Mai was behind him, Zuko deflected the rounds of fire being thrown at him, he could see three other soldiers under Zhan’s command join the former general and attack them. Seeing more fire coming from behind him, Zuko turned around and sent fire spinning into the air, knocking down one of the soldiers who attacked him. Seeing throwing knives flying through the air out of the corner of his eye, Zuko turned to face those behind him and dodged a fire blast that was aimed at his head.

Seeing blasts of ice shards being sent through the air, Zuko watched as they hit some of the soldiers and pinned them to the ground. Looking around, Zuko turned his attention to the fire bender that was currently in a sparring match with Mai. Unable to take his eyes off the fluidity of his fiancée and the easiness that she played around with her throwing knives, he didn’t see the attack coming from behind and he hissed slightly as fire shot past his head, singeing the ends of his hair.


	8. Chapter 8

Hearing the sound of the large door opening followed by the yelling of orders, Ty Lee jumped up from her spot on the bed and grabbed Azula, moving her into the corner of the cell out of the line of danger. Footsteps beating onto the ice cold ground echoed throughout the prison and came to a stop suddenly as a large clanking sound came from the cell door as it unlocked.

Preparing herself near the bars of the cell, Ty Lee waited until she saw General Zhan marching toward the opening, a large fireball in his hand. Watching his movements, Ty Lee swung around using the bars and kicked the man straight in the middle of his chest, sending him flying backward into an ice wall.

“You little bitch,” General Zhan spat as he threw fire toward Ty Lee, seething that the girl dodged his attack.

Running directly toward the man, Ty Lee ducked down low and slid past him as the fire he directed toward her slightly melted the ice ground giving her just enough room to get past him easily. Getting one solid hit in on his back she sent Zhan flying forward, his head slamming into a wall.

“It was you who left my soldiers to die in the snow,” he frothed, sending as much fire as he could toward Ty Lee, completely forgetting about Azula.

“And I would do it all over again,” Ty Lee replied, easily dodging another attack. Noticing that Meela was slowly approaching them, Ty Lee directed Zhan’s attention away from the cell and landed a solid kick to his stomach.

Seeing Meela walk toward Azula and guide her out of the cell, Ty Lee wasn’t playing games anymore; she quickly ran behind Zhan, kicked him into the back and sent him flying into the empty cell. Just as he pulled himself up Ty Lee threw one of the chains at him, watching as it wrapped around his leg before she hit him in the main chi points on his back, disabling his bending, and sending him face first into the ice cold floor unable to move.

Quickly exiting the cell, Ty Lee noticed Ulani running towards them. Watching to see what she would do, Ty Lee was rather surprised that she locked the man inside of the cell.

“I don’t think this is going to hold him for long if the other guards see him in here,” Ulani said, quickly guiding all three of them to the door, watching as Meela helped to open it. “Go, as quickly as you can.”

“I’m going to stay here and keep the door closed unless Fire Lord Zuko states otherwise,” Meela replied, the other three door guards agreeing.

“Stay safe, all of you,” Ty Lee replied as she held onto Azula and started to head towards the camp.

“Ty Lee, I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything, I tried to fire bend but nothing would happen,” Azula said as they made their way down the path. Feeling stabbing pain shoot through her ribs, she kept as quiet as she could about it while continuing on, her body not used to the amount of activity it was doing.

“Azula, it’s okay, you’ve been chained up and beaten for almost two years, I don’t expect you to do anything,” Ty Lee replied, stopping them a few hundred meters down the path. “Are you okay though, did you get hurt?”

“I’m okay, I’m getting a little out of breath and my muscles are on fire, but I’m okay, I didn’t get hurt,” Azula replied, taking in a couple of deep breaths. “Are you okay, Ty Lee? You and General Zhan got into it pretty good, did he hurt you?” 

“I’m fine, I was able to dodge all of his attacks, he wasn’t as graceful on his feet as I thought he was, he was kind of stiff in his movements, rather easy to take down,” Ty Lee responded, surprised when Azula pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Azula said, her voice slightly muffled as she held onto Ty Lee as tightly as she could.

Enjoying the moment, Ty Lee’s attention was quickly drawn away by screaming coming from the distance. “I think something has gone down, we should probably get you somewhere safe.” Breaking the hug, Ty Lee held onto Azula’s hand and led them towards the camp.

Breaking off from the carved out path a few hundred meters before the camp ground, Ty Lee took Azula the long way going around the back of the huts and tents. Observing the situation since most of the screaming and loud sounds had ended, the two girls noticed that Zuko, Mai, and the guards that came with them had a group of soldiers tied together in the middle of the camp.

“Azula, this is my hut, do you want to go inside until it is safe to come out?” Ty Lee asked, wanting only the best for the former princess.

“I don’t want to hide, I want to go with you,” Azula replied, holding onto her side while wanting to stand up to those who had hurt her.

“Okay, I know I can’t stop you, follow behind me,” Ty Lee said as she leaded them over to where Zuko, Mai, and the soldiers were.

“Ty Lee, Azula, why are you two here?” Zuko asked, walking toward them and stopping just out of earshot of the group.

“General Zhan came up to the prison and tried to attack Azula in her cell, if you didn’t release the shackles and chains we would have been dead by now. One of the Water Tribe door guards, Meela, helped us to get Azula out and once I had chi blocked General Zhan, Ulani came over and locked him inside of the cell. We don’t know how long they’ll be able to keep him there but he’s on the inside and the door guards are on the outside. We came back here to see if we could be of any help,” Ty Lee replied, letting Zuko know of the situation as quickly as she could.

“We have now got the situation under control down here, all of these soldiers will be sent to the Fire Nation to face punishment for their crimes. Azula, did any of the soldiers not tied up harm you?” Zuko said, wanting to make sure that he had everyone responsible for their actions ready to be placed into a holding cell.

“Only Jing and Peng are missing,” Azula replied, shivering from the cold, the adrenaline starting to wear off.

“They are already in a holding cell on my ship; they were the first to be taken aboard. Once the soldiers finish locking away these traitors we will need to figure something out. Ty Lee, can you take Azula back to your hut and make sure she is safe until General Zhan has been arrested? I have already started the fire for you and you are also the only I person I trust to watch over my sister,” Zuko responded, wanting to make sure that transporting the new prisoners went as smoothly as possible.

“I can do that, come on Azula,” Ty Lee replied, taking hold of Azula’s hand and leading her into the hut.

“If I had my bending I would have been able to put all of those traitors flat on their arses within seconds,” Azula said once they had entered the hut.

“I know you could have, but for now we just need to let Zuko deal with them how he sees fit, there is no point in us going out there just to cause more drama, it’s not worth it when we get to be warm,” Ty Lee replied, sitting down in the chair next to the one Azula had sat herself down in.

“That is an upside I guess, for the first time in the last two and a half years I don’t feel like I’m freezing to death. How long do you think it will take to transport all of the traitors and Zhan to Zuko’s ship?” Azula asked, not sure how far away camp was from the open waters.

“If Zuko is transporting the traitors via sleds it would take about fifteen minutes each way but if they are walking it depends, it could take forty minutes to an hour each way. Only about two prisoners at a time would be transported by sled so it could take a few hours as there are only two sleds here and I counted seven prisoners not including Jing, Peng, and Zhan,” Ty Lee replied, doing some quick math in her head.

“Zuko never really was one to wait around for prisoners to be transported, he’s probably making them walk while he, Mai, and some of his other guards go to the prison and deal with General Zhan,” Azula responded, holding her hands out in front of the fire, wincing as more pain shot through her ribcage.

“You do have a point, the only person who he hasn’t made walk when locking them up would have to be you,” Ty Lee said, taking her thick jacket off as she started to get too warm.

“That is true; he just left me to rot in a cell on a chunk of ice instead. I don’t even know why he cares so much about how I’ve been treated, I deserved everything they did to me,” Azula replied, her voice void of emotion as she stared into the flames.

Getting up from her seat, Ty Lee knelt down in front of Azula and took hold of the girl’s hands. “Azula you didn’t deserve anything that was done to you, they never should have laid a finger on you and if I ever see them again I will hunt them down for sport. Zuko is your brother and deep down he still loves you. You have people out there that love you and want only the best for you, I just wish that you could see that,” Ty Lee replied, making sure Azula paid attention to what she had to say.

“Name one other person out there who apparently loves me and wants only the best for me that is not my brother?” Azula asked as she was certain that there was nobody out there who cared about her.

“Azula, look me in the eyes, I love you and I only want what is best for you, I have always wanted the best for you,” Ty Lee replied, gently cupping Azula’s face.

Feeling her heart flutter slightly, Azula leant forward and gently pressed her lips against Ty Lee’s, kissing the girl in front of her. Feeling Ty Lee kiss her back, Azula let her fingers wander to the back of Ty Lee’s neck, holding her close.

Breaking the kiss, Ty Lee looked at Azula before she touched their foreheads together. “There is that smile I like to see.”

“Only for you,” Azula replied, jumping slightly as a knock echoed through the hut.

Getting up, Ty Lee went to the entrance of the hut and opened the door, seeing Zuko and Mai standing there. Stepping aside to let them in, she guided them over to where Azula was sitting.

“Eight of my guards are walking the prisoners to the ship; the other four have gone to the prison and are waiting for my arrival before going inside. As you two were inside just before the door was closed, do you know how many soldiers were inside?” Zuko asked, getting straight to the point.

“There should have been two but we only saw Ulani, she helped us to lock Zhan inside of the cell. Toshiko should be there too,” Ty Lee replied, as she took a seat on the bed.

“Ulani we might be able to trust but I don’t know about Toshiko. Has she done anything to be able to tell which side she will stray to?” Zuko asked, wanting to make sure that he had all relevant information before heading inside of the prison.

“She’s gotten everything I asked for plus more but I’m not sure, some days she’s really nice and friendly and other days she would bite your head off if you looked at her wrong,” Ty Lee responded, trying her best to remember everything.

“We will just have to go in and see. The only other thing we need to discuss is Azula and what to do. We can’t lock you back up in the prison as there will be no guards left once the camp breaks up nor can we take you with us back to the Fire Nation, you would be killed on sight and keeping you with the soldiers isn’t safe. I’ve sent a guard on a sled to talk to Chief Hakoda and he should be coming here pretty soon. I’m just at a loss on what to do,” Zuko said, rubbing his forehead.

“You are correct Zuko, she can’t come back to the Fire Nation but she can’t stay here. With the amount of injuries we can see plus being in chains for almost two years that would have made her body weak and defenceless. I’m almost tempted to suggest that we let them stay here at camp and come back in a week to decide what will be done as it gives us time to come up with plausible options,” Mai replied, keeping some distance between herself and the former princess.

“We can only do that if Ty Lee agrees to stay. I was going to see if Chief Hakoda had any ideas as he knows this area better than us,” Zuko responded, looking between the three other people in the small room.

“I’m willing to stay with Azula, I really don’t have anything left back in the Fire Nation anymore,” Ty Lee replied, a look of sadness washing over her face.

“Please watch Azula while we go to the prison, I trust you to do what is best,” Zuko said, quickly leaving the room as he wasn’t very good at dealing with his feelings.

“I’m sorry Ty Lee, I’ll drop back in once we deal with Zhan,” Mai said, trying to make up for Zuko’s quick exit.

Waiting until Zuko and Mai had left; Azula got up from her chair and walked over to Ty Lee, sitting down next to her on the bed. “Do you want to talk about?”

“There really isn’t much to talk about, I don’t speak to my sisters or my father anymore as we had a falling out after my mum passed away in an accident. That happened maybe nine months ago,” Ty Lee quietly said, looking down at her hands.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Azula asked, knowing that a simple sorry wouldn’t help the situation.

“There really isn’t. My mum hadn’t spoken to me since I left the Kyoshi Warriors, she apparently thought I was of best use with them and that being with them gave me validation and put my skills to use. It also gave them more nobility or something and made them look good in front of their friends. When I told her I left the Kyoshi Warriors because I wasn’t happy she told me that I had lost her respect and not to talk to her until I went back. My father agreed with her because he thought it was best for me too. My sisters as you know are very tight knit so when I made Mum sad they all decided not to speak to me until I apologised and listened to my parents. It’s really a massive drama over something they never should have got involved in,” Ty Lee explained, staring into the fire.

“That wasn’t very nice of them to do. If you’re okay to tell me, what happened to your mum?” Azula asked, gently rubbing soothing circles into Ty Lee’s back.

“Mum and Dad were invited to a party held by one of the noble families, Mum started to drink the wine and she went upstairs to find a bathroom. On her way back from the bathroom she tripped over the bottom of her dress and fell down a flight of stairs and hit her head hard. She was rushed to the medics but there was nothing they could do, three hours later she had some kind of fit and stopped breathing. The funeral was held two days later and it was just a group of old, noble people standing around fake crying. I stayed up the back so no one could see me, I was basically invisible to everyone that was there,” Ty Lee replied, realising she still hadn’t fully dealt with the death of her mother.

“That sounds horrible, I would hate for anyone to go through that. Are you sure you’re okay?” Azula asked, not surprised that Ty Lee started to sob heavily into her hands. Pulling the girl close, Azula tried her best to comfort Ty Lee.

“I just feel like I never got to say goodbye... She was angry with me and I blame myself. I... I was going to go to her a week before the accident and try to talk it over with her but... but I chickened out and decided to leave it. Now I can’t do anything about it and I really wish I would have done or said something, anything,” Ty Lee said through her sobs, feeling the guilt well up inside of her.

“I have seen you and your mother together a lot when I came over, I think she only tried to push you because she wanted the best for you, even though it was something that you didn’t want. You were her favourite daughter and your sisters knew that. I’m sure she is proud of you and what you have done,” Azula said, trying to find some words of comfort that she knew would help Ty Lee to feel a little bit better.

“Thank you, Azula,” Ty Lee replied, trying to control her breathing. Feeling warm arms wrapped around, she took a deep breath in and slowly released it, calming herself down.

Not knowing how long she had been sitting on the bed for with Ty Lee wrapped in her arms, Azula pulled out of the hug and wiped the last of the tears from Ty Lee’s face. “Come to the bathroom so we can wash your face.”

Following Azula into the small room, Ty Lee grabbed the wash cloth off the chair and dunked it into the bucket of cold water and wiped her face with it. Feeling a little better, she made sure no trace of the tears could be seen. “I think I kind of needed that,” Ty Lee said, offering Azula a small smile.

“We all need to cry here and there. As what my therapist keeps telling me, tears don’t make you weak, they instead help you to process emotion,” Azula replied, walking back over to the fire.

“Your therapist is very knowledgeable, I don’t think I’ve met her yet,” Ty Lee responded, placing some more wood on the fire.

“General Zhan allowed her to go home for a week just before your first visit. Even though she’s Southern Water Tribe, she’s very nice. She knows Uncle Iroh well. I hate to admit it but I think seeing her every second or third day has helped me to see things from other people’s view and not to judge them so harshly. I also am not made of anger and hate anymore and it’s hard as I still haven’t found myself yet,” Azula admitted, rubbing her bandaged wrist as she watched the fire crackle and burn.

“It may take a while once you’re allowed out of prison but I do believe you have it in you to be the best you can be and if you’ll have me, I would like to be by your side,” Ty Lee said, her hand gently resting on Azula’s knee.

“I would really like you by my side, and it won’t be anything like before,” Azula replied, resting her hand on top of Ty Lee’s.

“Hopefully Zuko will be lenient when he gets back, I doubt he’s going to chain you up again,” Ty Lee said, wondering out loud.

“If Mai has her way I probably will be. I’m surprised a throwing knife hasn’t been aimed at my head yet,” Azula replied, sighing slightly.

“Mai is very calculated, and I think she may need to go collect them all out of the soldiers who betrayed Zuko and the Fire Nation,” Ty Lee responded, knowing that Mai would have defended the Fire Lord.

“Speaking of Zuko and Mai, I think they’re back with General Zhan, I can hear the faintest sound of yelling,” Azula said, getting up from her chair and making her way over to the door, Ty Lee right behind her.

“Let me go first, I don’t want any harm to come to you and if he breaks free we don’t know what he will do,” Ty Lee replied, gently opening the door and walking outside, watching as four guards carried the former general into the camp, Toshiko behind him, also tied up with two Water Tribe guards making sure she kept in line.

“Let me go, I have only done what is best for the Fire Nation!” General Zhan loudly said as he struggled in his restraints.

“You have dishonoured yourself and your family, you have brought shame to the rank of General,” Mai calmly said, only infuriating the man.

“Guards, take him to the ship and lock him in the cell, chain him to the wall if needed,” Zuko ordered, watching as the four men carried him off. 

Turning to the two guards that had joined them, Zuko ordered them to take Toshiko back to the ship and put her with the other prisoners. Making sure that the camp was free of traitors, Zuko looked at the fire pit and fire bent a strong flame onto the wood, lighting it so they could warm up.

Joining Zuko by the fire, Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula all sat down and watched as the remaining soldiers sat around waiting for something to be decided. There were all of the Southern Water Tribe soldiers and guards, along with only six Fire Nation soldiers remaining. The Water Tribe had gathered together and stayed close to the warmth while the Fire Nation soldiers were on edge as they stood around awkwardly not knowing what to do.

“Mai I have something I need to say to you, I’m sorry for trying to kill you on Boiling Rock and I’m sorry that I tried to set you on fire, I do truly regret my actions,” Azula said, knowing it was something that had been playing on her mind lately.

“You are lucky that Katara was able to heal the wound, otherwise you would be back in that cell rotting,” Mai replied, not really believing that Azula meant a word she said.

“Mai, she’s trying to...”

“...Ty Lee, I do not care, what’s done is done. I have heard the apology and one day she may be forgiven but it won’t be today,” Mai interrupted, cutting the younger girl off.

“Azula what do you think should happen?” Zuko asked, trying to change the subject.

“I think that Mai should get over herself,” Azula replied, feeling Ty Lee place a hand on her arm.

“And I think that I might just haul you into the fire, see how you like it,” Mai rebutted, giving Azula a death glare.

“Azula and Mai, I do not have time for you two to bicker. Settle your differences when we are not dealing with a massive situation,” Zuko cut in, already sick of his sister and fiancée arguing.

“How long do we think it’s going to take before Chief Hakoda gets here?” Ty Lee asked, changing the subject.

“I’d say a few hours possibly. Azula, here is a question for you, what do you think is a suitable alternative to you not being in your cell?” Zuko asked, wanting to know how his sister felt.

“I really don’t know, I’m hoping it will be somewhere where I don’t have people trying to beat me to death,” Azula replied, wanting her brother to feel a little bit guilty.

“I will make sure that doesn’t happen again. I really am surprised that you haven’t made a run for it yet,” Zuko commented, raising his eyebrow at his sister.

“She couldn’t make a run for it if she tried,” Mai replied, giving Azula a once over.

“Mai, Azula has been through a lot, try to be nice for five minutes,” Ty Lee interjected, not liking that the other two girls were taking jabs at each other.

“Don’t worry about it Ty Lee,” Azula quietly said so only Ty Lee could hear her.

“Well, we don’t have to wait much longer for the Chief, there’s Appa,” Zuko said, pointing to the large sky bison coming toward them.

Waiting until Appa landed, Zuko went over and greeted them. “Chief Hakoda, Aang, Katara, thank you for coming.”

“Fire Lord Zuko, I heard briefly what happened, should we go talk about it? We don’t have much time before it gets dark,” Chief Hakoda asked, wanting to get his people out before the sun set.

“Of course we can, Chief.” Turning to his companions Zuko quickly looked over to them. “Ty Lee can you join us please?”

Getting up from her seat next to the fire, Ty Lee followed the group of four into the main hut and took a seat at the table.

“What exactly happened to her Zuko? What I heard has me worried,” Aang said, breaking the silence.

“It started about four or five days ago, Ty Lee and I came here to do a general inspection of the camp and she convinced me to let her go see Azula. When she got back Ty Lee told me that Azula looked like she had been beaten. I went up and checked and saw it for myself. Ty Lee stayed here to watch over the camp and Azula and when we came back today we had found out the soldiers who had been hurting her and the extent of it. I confronted General Zhan about it and he didn’t care and thought it was a fit punishment. I told him that for disregarding his orders and defying me he would be taken back to the Fire Nation to be dealt with accordingly. He attacked us and quite a few Fire Nation soldiers joined his plight. We were able to subdue them all and now they are all in cells aboard my ship ready to be taken back home where we will deal with them. With most of the Fire Nation soldiers gone we can’t use the prison now so Azula is out there being watched by Mai,” Zuko replied, summing up the events of the last few days.

“A mutiny is never something you want. What did they do to Azula?” Katara asked, wanting all of the information before any decision could be made between them.

“They beat her constantly; she’s covered in dark bruises and most likely has internal injuries. She can barely walk or stand up without being in pain even though she thinks she’s hiding it from us. Jing and Peng were abusing her daily whenever they were on and they have been doing it now for a year and a half, I assume. They have done a lot more horrible things to her, but I’m still trying to get those facts out of Azula,” Ty Lee replied, not wanting to go into much detail as it hurt her to think of how much pain Azula was in.

“Please tell me now, were any of the Water Tribe soldiers part of this?” Chief Hakoda asked, not liking one thing he had heard.

“As far as I know not one of them have laid a finger on her. It was actually Meela and Uki who first told me about what was happening and who not to trust with Azula. If I didn’t listen to what they told me I do honestly think Jing and Peng would have killed Azula by now,” Ty Lee responded, making sure the chief knew that they had helped her out.

“That is good to hear, Meela and Uki are very lovely young ladies. They came to us from the Northern Water Tribe, they wanted a fresh start and to be able to use all aspects of their bending and here they are free to do that with Katara as their teacher. A lot of the guards here come from our sister tribe,” Hakoda replied, happy to have more people in their village.

“That would explain a few things, I was surprised when you said you had benders ready to help out as I thought Katara was the last Southern Water Tribe bender,” Zuko responded, now understanding where they all suddenly came from.

“Here’s a fun fact, Meela and her brother Noa are the grandchildren of my grandmother’s sister, so they are mine, Sokka, and Katara’s cousins,” Hakoda informed them, smiling as he did so.

“Oh wow, that’s pretty cool,” Ty Lee chimed in, not expecting them to have been related at all.

“Since we have strayed off topic, may I direct us back onto the issue at hand, with the prison not in operation any more what are we going to do with Azula?” Zuko asked, knowing they had limited time to talk before the sun set.

“Has Azula been rehabilitated? It would all depend on that,” Hakoda asked in reply, wanting to know where they were at.

“I’ve spent the last few days with Azula and I do believe that she has been rehabilitated to a certain degree. She apologised to me, to Mai, and she is genuinely sorry for her actions. She was so calm and thoughtful earlier that I actually wondered if she had been possessed by a friendly spirit. I will say though that I think all the abuse she has received from the soldiers at fault has damaged her and left her scarred and that if she was to go into a largely populated town or village she may not do well in it. She’s also been out of the chains and shackles now for a few hours and her bending still hasn’t returned. I was going to check her chi points later on and see if they are salvageable but in all honesty I don’t see them fixing themselves until all of her injuries are healed,” Ty Lee replied, knowing Azula’s state of mind the best out of everyone in the room.

“Zuko, how much longer does she have left to serve of sentence?” Aang asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“She was sentenced to an initial five years in jail and then once that was served we were going to see if she needed more time locked away or if progress was made enough to rejoin society. Azula has served half of the five year sentence,” Zuko replied, making sure his math was correct.

“Do you plan on locking her up for the remainder two and a half years? If not, and since Ty Lee has vouched for her, we have a hut free in the Southern Water Tribe and she can stay there and serve out the remainder of her sentence. She will also be close to her therapist and can continue her sessions with Akna. We discussed it on the way over here and thought it might be a good alternative, how does that sound to you?” Hakoda said, suggesting a different option that wasn’t on the table beforehand.

“That sounds like a really nice offer but I wouldn’t feel good about leaving Azula alone in case she has another episode,” Zuko replied, a little shocked at the offer.

“I’m happy to stay here with Azula and watch over her, as I told you earlier I have nothing left in the Fire Nation and this would be a new start for the both of us,” Ty Lee offered, knowing it would be the best option for Azula’s health.

“Only if you’re sure Ty Lee,” Zuko responded, taking a deep breath in and slowly releasing it.

“I would say it’s settled then, Ty Lee and Azula can come to the Southern Water Tribe village with us, I’m sure Sokka, Katara, and Aang can check in on them and I’ll check in daily with them to make sure everything is okay,” Hakoda said, clapping his hands together.

“And to give you peace of mind Zuko, if anything does happen Appa and I will come get you right away,” Aang offered, seeing the new Fire Lord relax a little at hearing that.

“That is acceptable, I guess,” Zuko replied, knowing he had no better solution at hand. “If it’s okay I will come and check in on Azula once every six to eight weeks, just to make sure that...”

“...ZUKO! TY LEE!” Mai called out, distress evident in her voice.

Running out of the hut Ty Lee made her way over to Mai and saw Azula lying down on the ground, eyes closed, and looking very pale. “What happened?” Ty Lee asked, gently caressing Azula’s face for a response and getting nothing.

“We were just sitting here watching the fire and she groaned and held onto her stomach. Next thing I know she’s falling to the ground out cold,” Mai quickly replied, watching as Ty Lee placed Azula’s head in her lap.

“Here, let me,” Katara calmly said as she bent down next to Azula. “Ty Lee, can you please pull her shirt up to reveal her stomach? I’m going to use a healing technique to see how bad it is.” Gasping in shock at the range of coloured bruising covering Azula’s stomach, Katara knew that there was serious damage without even checking her over.

“Whoever did that to Azula needs to face up to their crimes,” Hakoda said, looking at the injuries. “I’m going to speak to my people and ask them why they didn’t say anything when we get back to the village.”

“The damage is rather severe I’m sorry to say, I can only do limited healing without a bigger body of water. Her chi flow paths are blocked very badly and I don’t know if I can do anything. We can only try though; we need to get her to the stream of water that runs near the old spirit portal and see if that will do anything,” Katara said as she put away her water into her canister. 

“Katara, Aang, Ty Lee, Zuko, get on Appa and I’ll bring Azula over,” Hakoda said, gently picking Azula up off the ground with ease.

“Mai, you’re in charge until I get back, can you see what everyone has to say about this whole mess?” Zuko asked as he hurried over to the sky bison and got into the saddle.


	9. Chapter 9

Sitting in the large saddle on Appa’s back, Ty Lee moved into the corner and rested Azula against her body, holding onto the girl as best she could hoping to not cause her any more pain. Zuko sat next to her keeping a watchful eye on his sister as they soared through the darkening sky. Upfront, Aang sat guiding Appa to where they needed to go while Hakoda and Katara were close by softly talking to one another.

“See those large funny shaped snow mountains? From there it should only take us fifteen minutes to get to the stream,” Aang said, trying his best to keep everyone informed so they wouldn’t worry as much. 

“What is important about this stream?” Zuko asked, never having heard of it before.

“There is a spirit portal sitting right on top of the stream, the spirit portal was closed by Avatar Wan hundreds of years ago. The stream itself is not near the portal but since the water runs under it, it is touched by the spirits as our ancestors say. It hasn’t been used in a long time but it has proven to have greater healing abilities than any other water here. We just don’t let a lot of people know about it as its very sacred to our people,” Chief Hakoda explained, a look of worry still etched into his face.

“That is reasonable. We don’t have anything like that in the Fire Nation but if we did I would make sure it was as safe as it could be,” Zuko replied, looking out at the sky.

“How is Azula doing?” Chief Hakoda asked while keeping an eye out for the stream.

“She hasn’t responded to anything yet, she’s still breathing pretty heavily and she’s still grey in colour,” Ty Lee replied, gently holding onto Azula, making sure she was as comfortable as could be.

Sharing a look of worry with Katara, Ty Lee did her best to keep her feelings at bay. Seeing Azula like this made her feel useless, it hurt her and made her want to make everything better but she knew that she couldn’t. She should have made Azula rest for a bit after they got to the camp grounds, she could see how much pain the girl was in. Placing a gentle kiss on top of Azula’s head, Ty Lee closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in trying to calm herself down. 

Falling silent, the group glided through the air, aiming to get to their destination. Worried looks were exchanged between them as they made eye contact with one another. Azula’s breathing was beginning to ease up a little but none of them took that as a good sign.

“There’s the stream, it’s beautiful,” Aang said, pointing to the small body of water. 

“It really is a sight to behold,” Zuko added, watching as it glistened under the last of the sun’s rays.

Guiding Appa down toward the ground, Aang gently sailed through the air and onto the ground without a sound, standing next to the sky bison. 

“Come on, we need to get Azula to the stream,” Katara urgently said, noticing that the other girl wasn’t getting any better.

Watching as Aang and Hakoda got Azula off Appa and put her next to the stream, Ty Lee and Zuko joined them and waited for instructions on what to do next.

“Aang, once we get Azula in the water can you water bend it so she stays floating in the once spot while I heal her?” Katara asked, giving Azula a once over.

“Can do,” Aang said, nodding his head.

“Ty Lee, do you know if Azula has any clothing on under the thick jumper?” Katara asked, knowing she could work around it but also knowing that it would be easier out of the way.

“She has a thin shirt on underneath, I’ll take the jumper off of her,” Ty Lee replied. Sitting down on the ice cold ground, Ty Lee took off Azula’s shoes before she gently manoeuvred the item of clothing off Azula and folded it up holding onto it.

“Okay, now Aang can you please get Azula into the water?” Katara asked, watching the Avatar water bend her into the stream, holding her still in the one position, lying on her back.

Taking a deep breath in, Katara moved the water over Azula’s body, watching as it glowed a blue silver colour. Concentrating on the former princess’s torso, Katara’s brows furrowed together as she slowly glided the water from side to side. After a few minutes had passed, Katara moved the healing water up to Azula’s neck and head, making sure that the bruises on her neck were gone.

“I’ve done the best I can,” Katara said after a few minutes as she gently water bent Azula onto the ground and bent all the water out of her clothing and hair, leaving her dry.

“Thank you, Katara, thank you so much,” Ty Lee replied, sitting down next to Azula and gently caressing her face. “Azula, come on, wake up.”

Hearing her name being said, Azula tried to her hardest to respond. Opening her eyes she saw Ty Lee leaning over her looking very worried. “Ty Lee,” she softly said, shivering from the cold.

“Hey there, how do you feel?” Ty Lee asked, helping Azula to slowly sit up.

“Cold, very cold,” Azula replied, noticing she didn’t have her jumper on.

“Here, let’s get this back on you,” Ty Lee said, helping Azula to get dressed.

“What happened? Where are we?” Azula asked, wondering why everyone was standing around her, watching her with looks of relief on their faces.

“You passed out back at the camp and lost all colouring, we couldn’t wake you at all. Katara tried to heal you but it wouldn’t work so we brought you here to place you in a body of water to attempt to heal you,” Zuko replied, still very concerned about his sister.

“I healed you as much as I could but your chi paths are so messed up I was only able to do limited healing, I was able to heal some of the internal damage but only time will heal the rest,” Katara explained, watching as Ty Lee helped Azula to stand up.

“Thank you for all you have done, Katara, I genuinely appreciate it,” Azula replied, shocking everyone around them except for Ty Lee.

“It’s my pleasure,” Katara replied, smiling at Azula.

“Now, how about we all get back on Appa and head back to the camp so we can deal with the remaining soldiers before night fully sets in,” Chief Hakoda suggested, watching the path the sun was taking.

“We should go and do that. I need to take the Fire Nation soldiers back tonight and have most of them dealt with and incarcerated. I just hope that Mai has the camp under control when we get back,” Zuko said, rubbing his forehead.

“I need to get my warriors back home and debrief with them to hear what they have to say. I might have to talk with them tomorrow morning as it’s a bit of a walk back to the village,” Chief Hakoda replied, helping Azula up onto Appa.

“What is going to happen with me?” Azula asked, feeling Ty Lee’s arm around her as Appa took flight.

“You and Ty Lee will be going back to the Southern Water Tribe with Chief Hakoda. They have a hut empty that you two will share. Ty Lee will be looking after you and you are to report to either Chief Hakoda, Aang, Katara, or Sokka once a day. I will be coming around every few months to check in on you. You are to continue your sessions with Akna until the end of you imprisonment sentence which finishes in two and a half years. If you screw up you will face punishment and possibly be shipped back to the Fire Nation where you will be held in a prison,” Zuko sternly said, not beating around the bush.

“I would also like it if for the first week you come to me and we can try to do some more healing, when we had you in the stream I could sense how bad the damage is,” Katara added, wanting to help out best she could.

“Azula, is that acceptable?” Zuko asked, looking at his sister.

“That seems more than fair,” Azula replied, leaning into Ty Lee, trying to get some more warmth into her body.

“Do you feel any better Azula?” Aang asked joining them in the saddle as Hakoda took over the reins.

“I do feel a little better, my insides hurt less and my head seems to be a little clearer but I feel exhausted. Today has really taken it out of me, I feel weak and I don’t like it one bit, I’m at one of my lowest points and it’s just hard,” Azula replied, feeling Ty Lee pull her closer.

“When we hit our lowest points in life we are always open to the greatest of changes Azula, everyone deserves a chance and I believe that you are now ready for that change,” Aang said, offering some words of wisdom.

“Thank you Aang, I think I’m ready to move forward now,” Azula replied, not realising that having others believe in her gave her a warm feeling inside.

“If it’s anything, I really do believe in you Azula, I know that you’re changing and I’m going to be here for you every step of the way,” Ty Lee said, placing a quick kiss on Azula’s cheek.

“I’ll be happy to have you by my side,” Azula replied, holding onto Ty Lee’s hand that was wrapped around her.

“Oh get a room,” Zuko said, looking at the two girls with a raised eyebrow.

“They will be having a room together,” Chief Hakoda smiled, laughing at the uncomfortable look on Zuko’s face.

“I don’t need to be thinking about that,” Zuko replied, scrunching up his face as he looked out over the South Pole, seeing nothing but ice and snow. “When we get back to the camp I need to speak to the soldiers once more.”

Falling into a comfortable silence for the rest of their journey, they made it back to the camp grounds and got off Appa. Giving Appa a rub on his head, Aang pulled an apple out of his pocket and gave it to him while they waited for Zuko and Chief Hakoda to go talk with the remaining soldiers.

“Can all soldiers who were stationed here please form a horizontal line in front of me and Fire Lord Zuko,” Chief Hakoda called out waiting for the soldiers to follow his instruction.

Watching as the twelve Water Tribe soldiers and remaining five Fire Nation soldiers gathered in front of him, Hakoda gave them a once over before standing tall in front of them.

Joining Chief Hakoda, Zuko walked up and down the line of soldiers and pointed at the five Fire Nation soldiers. “Step forward.” Watching them share a nervous look among one another he gave them a minute to sweat it out. “I want to know why you five didn’t say anything to me every time that I had visited when you knew that my sister was being treated very badly.”

Watching a young guard step forward who only looked a little older than himself, Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Laquan, you have an answer for me?”

“We hadn’t told you as General Zhan threatened to murder our families when he has his break if we were to mention anything. Even if one of us said something all of our families would pay the price in death,” Laquan said, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could.

“Water Tribe warriors, I ask the same question almost, why didn’t any of you inform me of what was happening before today?” Chief Hakoda asked, standing tall next to Zuko. 

“For almost the same reason Chief Hakoda, General Zhan said if we were to mention a word to anyone, even to each other, he would burn down the village along with everyone there. We didn’t want to start another war so we tried our best to make sure the chains weren’t tight and that the prisoner was given food and water,” a young guard replied, stepping forward.

“Thank you Eeka,” Hakoda replied, letting the young woman stand back in line.

“All Fire Nation soldiers please head back to my ship as we will be leaving as soon as we can. Hopefully before the sun fully sets,” Zuko said, dismissing his soldiers.

“Water Tribe warriors, head to the sleds and head back to the village, Eeka and Uki, please come with us on Appa,” Chief Hakoda said, watching the soldiers disperse.

Walking over to where Appa was, Mai headed for Ty Lee and handed her a large bag. “The tea for Azula from Uncle Iroh, make sure she takes it.”

“We will, Mai,” Aang replied, still kind of scared of the raven-haired soon-to-be wife of Zuko.

“Mai, are you ready to get going?” Zuko asked, joining the group as he wrapped an arm around his fiancée.

“I am,” Mai replied, heading off to join the other Fire Nation soldiers.

“Ty Lee, I had some soldiers take your belongings to the village. We also included some clothing for Azula. I would like to talk more but we need to get going, I’ll see you in a month or two. Goodbye Aang, Katara, Ty Lee, and Azula,” Zuko said, joining Mai as they began to walk back to their ship.

“I’m going to go to my hut to get my other jacket for Azula if it hasn’t been moved yet, I’ll be back in a minute,” Ty Lee said. Holding onto Azula’s hand and taking the girl with her as they walked into the now empty campground to get to the hut Ty Lee has called home these last few days.


	10. Chapter 10

Entering the hut, Azula sat down on one of the chairs and let out a sigh. “I don’t know how the village people are going to react to me and I know I’m meant to be strong but I’m a little scared,” Azula said, looking to Ty Lee for support.

“Azula, it should be okay, Chief Hakoda told Aang, Katara, and Sokka of the plan and by now Sokka would have told everyone. I think I’m in pretty good with Sokka as he was dating Suki but now that he and Suki have broken up I don’t know how that’s going to go,” Ty Lee replied, pulling her pink jacket off the back of the other chair. “Here put this on, you were freezing when we were on Appa.”

“Thank you,” Azula responded, sliding the jacket on over her jumper. “What happened between Sokka and Suki?”

“I don’t know the full story, I wish I did, but all I know is that Suki didn’t like the whole long distance thing and I think she may have fallen for somebody else but has not pursued anything yet. I also think Sokka was too busy with his duties to hold down a relationship. I’m kind of out of the loop with all things Kyoshi Warrior related, unfortunately so I only have second and third hand gossip,” Ty Lee replied, holding her hands out to Azula to help her up.

“Maybe Sokka will tell you why eventually,” Azula said, taking the help offered. 

“He might but at the moment I want to keep it quiet for a few days. I get to spend some quality time with you tonight, there will be no chains, no guards, no one to disturb us,” Ty Lee replied, pulling Azula into a hug and gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

Resting her head against Ty Lee’s chest, Azula listened to the steady beating of Ty Lee’s heart and closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment. Hearing a knock at the door they pulled apart and went to see who it was.

Looking at Aang as he stood before them, Ty Lee smiled at him. “We’re ready to head off, I was just helping Azula with the jacket so she’ll be warm.”

“Awesome, I’ll walk with you back to Appa then,” Aang replied, standing aside until they exited the small building and closed the door behind them.

Getting onto Appa, Ty Lee and Azula sat next to each other, their thighs touching as they looked around to see who else was with them.

“Now that we are all on Appa, let’s go back to our village before it gets any colder,” Chief Hakoda said, giving Aang the thumbs up to get them moving.

Feeling the wind rush all around her, Azula rolled her eyes and began to shiver. Pressing herself closer to Ty Lee, she took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, hoping that she would adjust to the change in temperature quickly.

“Now that we are all here, Uki, Eeka, I need to ask you something. You two were my highest ranking warriors and I need to know what exactly did General Zhan say he would do?” Chief Hakoda asked, wanting to know of all threats against his village made by the man in question.

“General Zhan said he would come at night so we wouldn’t see his ship and he would throw fireballs into our village and burn it down. He would then send his troops in to capture everyone left alive and if they were our family he would torture and kill them in front of us,” Eeka replied, telling Chief Hakoda of everything she knew.

“He also said that he would steal any children left alive to bring pain to us,” Uki added, trying to remember if he had said anything else.

“If he steps foot inside of my village he won’t stand a chance,” Chief Hakoda replied, not liking a single word he had heard.

“I think that if he manages to escape from Zuko’s custody we should have a plan in place just in case,” Katara said; ready to defend her village once more.

“We will definitely put a plan in place. If he does come here he will be after Azula, Ty Lee, and the twelve soldiers we had placed at the prison,” Hakoda replied, making a quick attack plan in his head.

“We can just hope that Zuko keeps him locked away until he dies. If he does end up attacking the village or getting someone else to do it, which he will, Ty Lee and myself will help out as much as we can,” Azula offered, feeling like she owed the Southern Water Tribe greatly.

“First thing we need to do is get you back to being healthy, I am so sorry that it took this long for anything to be done,” Chief Hakoda said, feeling like it was partly his fault that Azula was treated as badly as she was.

“It’s okay, I probably deserved most of it anyway,” Azula replied, not making eye contact with anyone as she looked out into the distance.

“No one deserves to be hurt like you have. No one should lay a hand on another with violent intent. In the Air Temples we were taught to only lay a hand on another person if it was in good intent or to help them,” Aang said, sharing some of his teachings with everyone.

“I still feel like I deserved what happened, I wasn’t exactly the nicest person out there,” Azula responded, feeling Ty Lee wrap and arm around her shoulders.

“Azula, you didn’t deserve anything they did to you and I’ll tell you as long as you need me to. You were not the one who started the war; you weren’t even in charge of the war. The only thing your father told you to do was to hunt down the Avatar and to conquer the lands. You weren’t the only one responsible for the conquering, Mai and I played our part too, we were all pawns in your father’s game,” Ty Lee said, making sure Azula knew that it wasn’t her fault.

“Ty Lee is right, and if I recall correctly you’re only a couple of months younger than Katara making you fourteen when the war ended. No fourteen-year-old should have been used as a puppet to destroy or conquer anything, you were only child, you still are, and your father purposely put you in harm’s way along with your friends,” Chief Hakoda agreed, saying how he felt about the matter. 

“I hold no hard feelings over you or your brother trying to kill or capture me. We have made amends and I know you meant it when you apologised. Zuko has actually helped me through a lot and he is now one of my closest friends,” Aang said, offering a sincere smile.

Nodding her head, Azula didn’t know what to think. Everyone was being nice to her and she wasn’t used to it. She was used to being starved and beaten in the name of revenge, or having tricks played on her for fun. Being transported on a giant sky bison to a place she could serve out the rest of her sentence without being locked up was something she never imagined happening.

“Hey, look, there’s the village,” Katara said, pointing at the flickering light off in the distance.

“It looks like it’s warm from here,” Ty Lee replied, rubbing her hands up and down Azula’s arms.

“I would kill for some warmth at the moment,” Uki responded, being the only one without a thick jacket on.

“You should have grabbed your jacket while we were waiting for Fire Lord Zuko to return,” Eeka commented, raising an eyebrow at the other woman.

“Tomorrow after we all debrief and we will send a few sleds back to the campground so we can empty out the huts and tents and remove all trace of the camp. The prison will remain shut down until it needs to be put to use again,” Chief Hakoda said, watching as the village drew closer.

Entering the village, Aang brought Appa down in the clearing and everyone got off him. Giving Appa a pat, Momo joined them and sat on the Avatar’s shoulder. 

“He’s cute,” Eeka said, giving Momo a scratch on his chin.

“He is, he’s the last of his kind,” Aang replied, feeling Momo jump off his shoulder and onto Appa.

“Aang, Katara, please go find Sokka and the council. Eeka, Uki, please wait for the sleds to arrive and then meet in the hall. Ty Lee, Azula, please come with me,” Chief Hakoda said, making sure everyone understood their orders.

“Where are we going?” Ty Lee asked, walking along side the tall man.

“I’m going to show you two to your hut, it’s not far away, it’s in close range to both my hut and Aang’s hut so if you have any problems you can come and get either one of us,” Chief Hakoda replied, standing outside of a medium sized hut.

“This hut used to belong to Tulok. He met a lovely girl from the Earth Kingdom and moved there to be with her. It’s decently sized, step in and I’ll show you around,” Chief Hakoda said, pushing the front door open and allowing the two girls to step inside.

“This is beautiful,” Ty Lee said in awe. There was a small fire going in the middle of the large room. Large hides were laid down on the ground to keep the heat in, patterned in different styles. There was a large seat big enough for two of them with ornate carvings on it and a high back rest. There was a small table made of something Ty Lee couldn’t identify off to the side and a few cupboards which also doubled as a small kitchen.

“Compared to my cell this is luxurious,” Azula added, walking around the room.

“The two doors on the back wall, one leads to a bathroom with a toilet and wash area and the other leads to a large bedroom. It has two single sized mattresses one on either side of the room. We’re still waiting on some bed frames to be delivered so we can get them off the ground. There are pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, and a few warm sets of clothing for the both of you,” Chief Hakoda said, showing them the two rooms.

“How did you know that there would be two of us?” Azula asked, pressing down on a pillow to feel its firmness.

“Fire Lord Zuko paid us a visit after he left Ty Lee at the camp on the first day to watch over you and he predicted that if something went horribly wrong, which it did, that Ty Lee would want to stay with you,” Chief Hakoda replied, looking between the two girls.

“Well, Zuko was right, there was no chance I was going to leave you alone and being here gets me away from everything that’s happening back home,” Ty Lee replied, feeling the softness of the hide that was on the floor between the two beds.

“If you would like to follow me outside and to the dining hall, we will have dinner ready soon. Every night at sunset there will always be food present in the dining hall for anyone to eat. You are allowed to take a tray back to your hut if you’re busy or not feeling too well but we encourage everyone to eat together as it brings our village closer together,” Chief Hakoda said, letting them know what goes nightly.

“How would we go about getting breakfast food and snack food?” Ty Lee asked as they exited the hut and headed towards a large building.

“There is always food in the dining hall for every meal and in the cupboards in your hut one of them will hold food for snacking. When you are both feeling up to it I’ll show you to the small market were you can buy some more treat food if you want. You can help out with general maintenance, working in the hall, or going hunting or fishing to earn some extra money. Fire Lord Zuko left some money which is more than enough for you to have a small allowance each for the next month,” Chief Hakoda informed them as he opened the door to the dining hall.

Looking around the large room, Azula let the smell of freshly cooked food fill her senses. To the left a large table ran the length of the wall with half of it being taken up by various types of food in large pots hanging over small fires to keep warm. The other half consisted of plates of bread, butter, fruit, and sweet buns which sat next to large piles of plates, trays, and eating utensils. There were three long tables surrounded by seats taking up the rest of the space within the room. Twenty or so people from the village sat around eating their dinner as they conversed together, paying Ty Lee and Azula no attention.

“Feel free to help yourselves, I need to go attend to the council to inform them of former General Zhan’s threats,” Chief Hakoda said, leaving the two girls standing in the middle of the room.

“Thank you Chief Hakoda, we will,” Ty Lee replied, smiling at the man as he left.

Waiting until the man had left the building, Azula turned to Ty Lee, “Can we please get something to eat and only stay long enough to finish our food?”

“Azula, we should stay for a bit longer, like ten extra minutes so it doesn’t look like we are trying to avoid them, we need to be nice,” Ty Lee replied, heading over to the trays and putting two plates and a bowl on both trays she set out.

“I guess that would work,” Azula responded, still not feeling very comfortable being around people.

“What would you like to eat?” Ty Lee said, handing Azula a tray to place food on.

“I don’t know yet, I think I’ll just place whatever looks good on my plate,” Azula replied, feeling a little tired.

“I suggest you try the arctic hen, it’s one of my favourite foods when it’s cooked over a fire and not in a stew or soup,” Ty Lee said, pointing to the dish on the table.

Making her way down the line of the food, Azula started with the bread, fruit, and the sweet buns, knowing that she would eat them. Getting a few pieces of arctic hen, she placed some rice next to it on one of the plates. Adding some steamed fish to the same plate, Azula moved down to the stews and filled her bowl with sea prune stew, something she was given very rarely when she was in her cell. 

Sitting down at one of the tables, Azula waited for Ty Lee to join her, her eyes going wide when she saw the amount of food the girl had placed on her plate. “What did you get?” She asked, not knowing what some of it was called.

“I have five flavour soup in my bowl with six pieces of bread, four puffin-seal sausages, they’re delicious by the way, two large pieces of arctic hen, some rice, seaweed noodles, some giant sea crab legs, three steamed dumplings, and two sweet buns,” Ty Lee replied, dunking a piece of bread into her soup.

“I don’t know how you’re going to eat all of that,” Azula commented, placing a spoonful of stew into her mouth.

“After today I’ll probably go get seconds, I’m starving,” Ty Lee responded through a mouthful of bread.

Slowly eating her food, Azula was still getting used to having a meal a day. Her stomach usually protested after four or five mouthfuls but so far she was going alright. Watching as more people entered the hall, Azula was thankful that she chose to sit at the end of the furthest table. Breaking her piece of buttered bread in half she put some arctic hen on it and took a bite. It reminded her of the taste of possum-chicken that Ty Lee got them to eat when they were pretending to be Kyoshi Warriors while infiltrating the Earth Kingdom.

“Hello Ty Lee and Azula, may we join you?” Meela asked, standing next to Uki.

“Of course, grab a seat,” Ty Lee said, smiling at the two women as they sat down. “Azula this is Meela and Uki, they were the two who told me what was happening in the prison, if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have been able to help you as quickly.” Shoving as much bread into her mouth as she could, Ty Lee looked to Azula and raised an eyebrow.

“Hello, and thank you for telling Ty Lee what was happening. I might have been dead by now if you didn’t,” Azula said, trying to be honest and friendly.

“As long as you’re safe now, that’s all that matters,” Uki replied, thankful that nothing happened to them afterward while at the camp.

“So, how do you two like the village so far?” Meela asked, changing the topic of conversation.

“It’s a lot calmer than I thought it would be I was half expecting to be yelled at or worse. I wasn’t prepared for how nice everyone has been so far but then I’ve only interacted with like six people,” Azula replied, noticing that Ty Lee had a mouth full of food.

“I don’t think that anyone here would do anything to harm you, they all understand how to be decent people, they might get a bit hot headed but I don’t think they would be violent,” Uki responded, eating a dumpling.

“If I was either of you I would avoid Sokka for a few days,” Katara said as her and Aang sat down next to them.

“What’s wrong with Sokka?” Ty Lee asked, rearranging the food on her tray.

“He got a reply letter from Toph today that was written in Suki’s handwriting with a note on the bottom of it telling him to stop asking about her. He’s now asking everyone who knew Suki if she has somebody new and he does not believe what anyone has to say. He’s moping around, crying, and grabbing people and interrogating them. I don’t think you two need a crying Sokka to deal with anytime soon,” Katara replied, eating some fish with rice.

“Do you know what happened between them? When I was with the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki did mention that she didn’t like the long distance and I think she was falling for someone else but she wouldn’t say anything,” Ty Lee responded, taking a bite of her sausage.

“All I know is what you just said and that Sokka kept trying to get her to move here but she didn’t want to as she had responsibilities and a commitment to the Kyoshi Warriors,” Katara replied, looking to Aang to see if he knew anything more.

“I heard the same,” Aang agreed, stirring his vegetarian stew.

“Poor Sokka, hopefully he gets the answers he needs soon,” Ty Lee said, having a feeling she knew who Suki liked.

“Hopefully,” Azula replied, eyeing off one of the sausages on Ty Lee’s plate.

Noticing what Azula was looking at, Ty Lee put one of the puffin-seal sausages on the girl’s plate. “Try this, it’s delicious,” she said, biting into her third one.

Cutting the sausage with her knife, Azula put a piece of it in her mouth and recognised the taste; Ty Lee had brought her some while she was locked up. “You’re right, it is good.”

Continuing their small talk, Katara told them about what usually happens during the day and what to expect. They covered a range of topics and it left both Azula and Ty Lee feeling a little better. Finishing up their meals, they excused themselves and said goodbye as they were starting to feel tired.

Taking their trays to the dirty dishes pile, they exited the dining hall and headed for their hut. The sun had set and the only light came from the large fire in the middle of the village and the soft glow shone through a few windows in the larger huts.

Entering their hut, Ty Lee stocked up the fire and found the pot of water, putting it on to boil. Making them a cup of tea each, she placed the full, hot mugs down on the small table. “How are you feeling Azula?” she asked, noticing the girl was yawning.

“I feel exhausted, I didn’t realise how much today took out of me. I ache all over and even though Katara tried to heal me it still hurts. I was able to eat without much pain in my stomach and that felt good,” Azula replied, sipping at her tea.

“If you’re tired, how would you feel about heading to bed early, it really has been a big day for the both of us,” Ty Lee said, knowing she could use the rest.

“That sounds good, it’ll be the first time in two and a half years I won’t wake up to chains or shackles digging into my skin,” Azula responded, looking down at her still bandaged wrist.

“How’s your wrist feeling?” Ty Lee asked, following Azula’s gaze.

“It actually feels a lot better, I haven’t even noticed any pain coming from it since Katara tried to heal me,” Azula replied, putting down her cup of tea.

“Do you mind if I have a look at it?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to see if the stream healing helped.

Letting Ty Lee access her wrist, Azula watched as the girl gently took the bandage off, rolling it up as she did so. Moving her wrist a little to test it out, Azula felt a little bit of an ache but nothing too bad.

“It still looks bruised and the protrusion marks are still there but they are a little bit lighter. The marks from where the shackle had broken the skin looks to be healed and it doesn’t seem swollen anymore,” Ty Lee observed, gently touching the area.

“I think the healing in the streamed helped my wrist, my stomach, and stopped some of the pain that I had. I know I still have pain and am probably still covered in bruises but I do overall feel better,” Azula replied, drinking the last of her tea.

“We can check when we get ready for bed to see if anything else has healed or has been helped,” Ty Lee said, gulping down the last of her tea and getting up from the large chair.

Walking over to the other side of the room, Ty Lee put the mugs on the bench and took her shoes off and left them by the door. Noticing a jacket stand, she took her jacket off and hung it up on one of the hooks. Watching as Azula did the same thing they got cleaned up and headed into their bedroom, having a good look at the set up.

“It’s a bit cold in here,” Azula commented as Ty Lee organised the bedding.

“It is a little, I’m half thinking we move the mattresses onto the hide as it will provide more warmth. I hope you don’t mind sleeping next to me,” Ty Lee replied, smiling at the other girl.

“Ty Lee, we used to share a single mattress whenever I stayed over at your house, two single mattresses is going to give us a lot more room,” Azula responded, helping Ty Lee to move the mattresses to where they needed to go.

Getting changed into clean clothing, Ty Lee got dressed as quickly as she could so she could help Azula. Watching as Azula pulled off her pants and jumper, Ty Lee walked over to her and gave her a soft smile.

“How bad does it still look?” Azula asked, not really able to see anything.

“It still looks pretty bad, the bruises aren’t as dark but they are still covering mostly everywhere. The bruises on your thighs seemed to have cleared up the most, they are a green yellow colour. The bruising on your neck is totally gone. Where the shackles sat and on your back seem to be the worst, followed by your stomach. Running my hands over your back I can still feel how messed up your chi paths are, I feel like they are going to take a while before they feel like they should,” Ty Lee replied, making sure she didn’t miss anything of importance as she gently ran her hands over Azula.

“With time they should all heal, right? I’m getting more tired as each minute passes,” Azula said, changing the subject as she didn’t like to ruminate on what had happened to her.

“Time will tell, let’s go to bed, I’ll get them ready,” Ty Lee replied, moving over to the mattresses.

Laying a blanket over each mattress, Ty Lee placed the pillows at head level and laid the sleeping bags out both with another blanket over the top of them. Leaving the bedroom door open to get some warmth into the room, they both climbed into their beds and lay there, looking up at the ceiling.

“Do you think I’m ever going to be able to fire bend again?” Azula asked, her voice soft.

“I don’t know Azula, only time will tell and your chi paths have a lot of healing to do,” Ty Lee replied, being honest with Azula.

“I tried to see if I could fire bend earlier and nothing happened, I couldn’t feel any energy running through my body and it scared me,” Azula said, feeling like she could tell Ty Lee anything without being judged.

“I think give it a few weeks then you can try again. Trying to flow energy through damaged pathways will only hurt you more in the long run. If you want, once you heal, I can teach you some Kyoshi Warrior moves I have learnt,” Ty Lee offered, moving to lay on her side so she was looking at Azula.

“I would really like that but aren’t you worried that I may snap and go back to my old ways, everyone so far thinks I’m going to, I can see it in their faces,” Azula replied, voicing what she thought others thought of her.

“Do you think you’re going to snap and go back to how you used to be?” Ty Lee asked, looking Azula in the eye.

“I don’t think I will. There is no war, my father is locked away, I have no one putting any pressure on me at all. I almost feel calm at the moment, my mind is clearer than it’s ever been, it must be the fresh air,” Azula replied, taking one arm out of the sleeping back and reaching for Ty Lee’s hand.

Taking hold of Azula’s hand, Ty Lee studied the gentle curve of the girl’s cheek and how her eyes shone in the darkened room. “I believe you have changed for the better and now that no one is using you for their own benefit you finally have the time to explore who you really are and we both know that you’re not the killing machine your father wanted you to be,” Ty Lee said, giving Azula’s hand a quick squeeze.

“Working with Akna over the last year and a half has made me see everything in a different light, she really is good with what she has to say. She’s like a female version of Uncle Iroh who doesn’t use a lot of metaphors, she just says it how it is but in a kind way. Before she left for her holiday she told me that when she comes back we will be working on more of my issues. I think she wants to do to the ‘tell me about your family’ thing again even if we have been over it hundreds of times,” Azula replied, letting Ty Lee in on what she talked about with her therapist.

“Akna seems like she’s very good at what she does. Maybe your clear head is a mix between Akna helping you out and being healed in the spirit stream. Chief Hakoda said it had special healing powers and can sometimes work for mental health too but it all depends on the purity and spiritual connection of the water. I also recall Katara mentioning that some spirit water from the Northern Water Tribe was able to bring Aang back from the brink of death, it’s very powerful,” Ty Lee responded, trying to suppress a yawn.

“My head was clearer when I woke up from being in the water,” Azula said, making a mental note to talk to Katara about it over the next few days.

“That’s good Azula, hopefully a few more sessions with Katara will speed things along,” Ty Lee replied, getting out of her sleeping bag.

“What’s wrong?” Azula asked, not knowing why the other girl was now not in bed.

“Nothing is wrong, I just need to pee, I’ll be back in a moment,” Ty Lee replied, heading into the small bathroom and using the amenities. Washing her hands in the bucket of water, she dried them off and went back into the bedroom.

Seeing Ty Lee walk back into the room, Azula sat up on one elbow. “Come say goodnight to me.”

Laughing slightly at getting ordered to say goodnight, Ty Lee made her way back to the beds and straddled Azula’s lap, pushing the girl down so she was on her back. “Goodnight Azula,” Ty Lee softly said, feeling Azula pull her down by the front of her jumper.

Feeling warm lips pressed against her own, Ty Lee gently and slowly kissed Azula, happy to be able to have some uninterrupted time alone together. Feeling teeth pull at her bottom lip, Ty Lee heard herself moan as she kissed Azula harder. Feeling warm hands under her clothing running up her back she enjoyed the feeling of having nails gently digging into her skin. Ty Lee didn’t know how long they laid there kissing for but when they broke for air she was out of breath.

“I like kissing you,” Azula said, placing a soft kiss on Ty Lee’s pulse point on her neck.

“I like it when you kiss me,” Ty Lee replied, rolling off Azula and onto her mattress.

“I remember the first time we kissed, it was my first kiss and we were twelve and it was one of my best memories, one of my happier days from when I was younger,” Azula said, pursing her lips together.

“That was my first kiss too, and now I get to relive it with you,” Ty Lee replied, watching as Azula yawned. “Go to sleep Azula, you’re exhausted, you need the rest to help your body recover, I’ll still be here in the morning, I promise.”

“Okay, I am tired,” Azula replied, watching as Ty Lee got into bed and curled up under the blanket and sleeping bag. “Goodnight Ty Lee.”

“Goodnight Azula,” Ty Lee replied, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Five days had passed since Ty Lee and Azula came to the Southern Water Tribe village and they still felt like they were exhausted. Sitting at the edge of the village near the water, they had a little pile of snow between them that they took turns making into little snowballs and throwing into the clear water. 

Looking up at the sun which was high in the sky, Azula sighed and wished she could feel its warmth from where she was. She was starting to ache all over again and only the warmth seemed to help with the pain radiating through her body. She knew it wasn’t the best idea to be sitting outside in the cold but she needed a change of scenery before she felt like she was going crazy.

Gently holding her side where the pain radiated through her ribcage, she hissed quietly and readjusted her position as she felt the anger she had towards the guards for hurting her begin to stir.

“Azula, what’s wrong?” Ty Lee asked, concerned as she felt Azula’s hand brush hers as she rearranged herself.

“It’s nothing,” Azula replied, failing at keeping a straight face as more pain ached from her ribcage.

“What hurts?” Ty Lee tried again, gently holding Azula’s hand with her own.

“I just have pain again, especially in my ribs and it hurts. I’m angry that it took so long for someone to care about me and put a stop to it. They would hurt me day after day, sometimes twice a day and no one cared. They constantly hit me, kicked me, pulled at me, choked me, and tortured me and everyone went on like it was fine. I just wanted it to stop,” Azula said, he voice raised as tears began to stream down her face.

“Come here,” Ty Lee softly said, pulling Azula in close and holding her. “I’m always here for you, through thick and thin.” Gently placing a kiss on Azula’s temple, Ty Lee rubbed circles into Azula’s back trying to offer her some comfort.

“It’s stupid that I’m crying,” Azula said, pulling back a little and wiping at her eyes.

“It’s not stupid, you’re allowed to have feelings and you’re allowed to express them,” Ty Lee replied, hearing footsteps coming up behind them.

“Hi,” Ty Lee said, greeting the older woman who approached them.

“Hi Akna,” Azula greeted the woman as she wiped the tears from her face.

“Hello girls. Chief Hakoda asked I come find you Azula so we can arrange a therapy session but I feel like we should do that now if you’re free,” Akna kindly replied, smiling softly at the two girls.

“I think that might be good for you,” Ty Lee said to Azula as she wiped away the last of the tears from Azula’s face.

“I think you’re right,” Azula agreed, knowing she had more to get off her chest than she wanted to admit.

“I’ll walk you to where you need to go,” Ty Lee offered as she got up and pulled Azula to her feet.

“I have a special hut for my therapy, we will go in there,” Akna replied as she led the way to a small hut off to the side of the village which allowed them to have a little privacy.

“I’ll meet you back in our hut, I’m going to see if any help is needed in the dining hall first,” Ty Lee said, placing a kiss on Azula’s hand before she headed off towards the hall.

Taking a deep breath in, Azula tried to calm herself down before taking a step inside. Realising that it wasn’t working she entered the hut and looked around. There were three large armchairs in the room that she had only ever seen in royal palaces in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. They were a deep blue in colour and looked very comfortable to sit in.

“Take a seat Azula and I know you want to know about the armchairs, they were a gift from Iroh, his friend in the Earth Kingdom made them as a favour to him and then they were gifted to the village. Chief Hakoda thought they would be of best use in here,” Akna said, answering Azula’s unasked question.

“They are lovely,” Azula said, sitting down in one and feeling the softness around her body. Watching as Akna took a seat in front of her, Azula swallowed the small lump she had in her throat.

“They are. Would you like to tell me why you are crying?” Akna asked, jumping right into their session. “Remember you can be honest in here, no one will ever know what we talk about.”

“I was crying because I was in pain and I’m angry at the guards for hurting me and that it took so long for it to stop,” Azula replied, practicing her breathing.

“Would you like to tell me what they did to you?” Akna asked, only having heard a small summary of what had happened from the Chief.

“They hurt me, Jing and Peng would come in every day they were rostered on and they would tell me that everything was my fault and that I was responsible for my family’s actions and that I deserved everything that they did to me. They would punch me in the stomach so hard I would cough up blood and couldn’t breathe. They would aim for my ribs and hit them continuously until they heard something break or crack. They would kick me in my legs and wherever they could reach until I was crying out in pain. My back they would attack with whatever they could and every day whenever I moved my back would shoot pain that sometimes made me black out. They would pull my hair so tightly my head ached for days. They would bring in a bucket of water and try to drown me by putting a soaking wet cloth over my mouth and nose so I couldn’t breathe in anything except water and it burned. They pulled the shackles and chains so tightly that it left my entire body aching. Once they pulled it so tight that my shoulder popped out of place and a medic needed to come in and set it. They stripped me out of my clothing and shoved me to the ice cold ground and would make me lay there until I turned blue. I couldn’t do anything to protect myself or fight back,” Azula replied, tears now freely running down her face as she listed what had happened to her as she finally got it off her chest.

“It’s understandable that you feel the way you do, it wasn’t fair on you,” Akna calmly responded, making sure to listen to every word Azula had to say.

“I’m just so angry that it took so long for anyone to do anything about it. If Ty Lee hadn’t convinced my brother to let her see me I would still be locked up in that prison being tortured daily,” Azula said her voice full of hurt as she spoke.

“Azula, did you ever think to tell me what was happening to you?” Akna asked, concerned that the young girl never said a word to her.

“I thought about it but I couldn’t. They threatened me, told me they would do worse to me if I ever said anything. I didn’t want to die so I couldn’t say anything. Before every time I saw you the Fire Nation guards would come in and make sure I looked presentable. It was the only time they would give me bread and water, so my body wouldn’t make a sound while I talked with you. They were horrible to me and I hate them,” Azula replied, wiping away the couple of tears that run down her cheeks.

“How did it make you feel that they did that to you?” Akna asked, wanting to go a little more in depth.

“It made me feel worse than I was already feeling and I was feeling pretty bad. They were rough with me, they would try to make me choke down food and water and when I was done they would wipe away any dirt and it hurt and was freezing cold. They would also tighten the shackles so hard my wrists would ache for hours on end, they were cruel, crueller than my father was sometimes,” Azula responded, gently rubbing at her right wrist.

“That isn’t a nice thing to do to anyone is it? I understand why you feel the way you do,” Akna calmly said, relaxing a little into her chair.

“It’s not a nice thing to do, I will admit I’ve been harsh before when I was under my father’s influence but now that he is locked away and I get to be my own person I can see what I did was wrong. I still don’t fully understand why I let him control me,” Azula replied, taking a deep breath in.

“Being able to control your own destiny and choose your own path in life is something that should be cherished. With your father, you let him control you as you were scared of him and scared of what he would do. You saw what he did to your brother and those around you and you didn’t want to be treated like that so you did the only thing you could think of to survive and that was to let him be in control,” Akna responded, trying to answer Azula’s problems as best she could.

“I guess,” Azula said, looking anywhere but at Akna.

“As time passes you will be better able to understand why you did the things you did. For now you need time to heal and to process what has happened to you. That can take a few months to a couple of years,” Akna responded, leaning forward a little.

“I think I need to rest for a little but I don’t see that happening,” Azula said, leaning back further into the chair.

“Are you still having trouble sleeping?” Akna asked, pursing her lips together.

“I still am. It’s not as bad as before but I keep on having nightmares and they keep me up. Sleeping with Ty Lee in the same room has made it easier to fall asleep but the nightmares just don’t seem to go away. My pain is starting up again too and when I move the wrong way while asleep it wakes me up,” Azula replied, yawning quietly.

“Only time will be able to help. I do suggest a hot cup of tea before bed to help calm down your mind,” Akna responded. “Next time we talk I would like to delve into your nightmares a little bit but for now I don’t want to push you any harder than what we have talked about today. Is there anything else bothering you that you would like to mention?”

“It’s been five days since I’ve been here and I still can’t fire bend. Ty Lee and Katara both say it’s because my chi paths are screwed up, they both have felt them and have said that my energy isn’t flowing through them. Because of the stupid guards my brother chose to watch over me I may never be able to use my bending again. It scares me and I hate it, there is literally nothing I can do to bring it back. I also feel like I can’t get angry around anyone as I’m scared to and I think they will jump to conclusions, it’s like they expect me to burn down the village or something,” Azula said, her voice raised as she was finally able to say something that had been playing on her mind for a few days now.

“Azula, you are allowed your feelings. You are allowed to feel angry, sad, betrayed, hurt, and so on. I don’t think anyone here will jump to conclusions, Chief Hakoda has had a talk with everyone and we don’t expect you to be perfect with your emotions. You have suffered trauma and emotional outbursts are expected, you still need to process what happened to you. With your bending I do think that Ty Lee and Katara would know best, I will admit I know nothing about the effects of prolonged chi blocking,” Akna replied, making sure that Azula knew she was allowed to experience what she felt.

“I know I need to process it all but it’s going to take a while like you’ve said,” Azula admitted, feeling tears prickling at her eyes as she tried to keep them contained.

“I know it is going to take a while and I’m going to be here to support you. You are always welcome to come around and talk to me whenever you want. How about we wrap up for today and you go get some rest,” Akna said, watching the expression on Azula’s face as she tried to stop a yawn.

“Some rest sounds nice,” Azula agreed, getting up from her armchair and stretching out her arms, feeling a little pain in her shoulder blades. Turning to face Akna, Azula took a deep breath in. “When will our next session be?” she asked, feeling a bit jittery as she stood there in front of the older woman.

“How about in a couple of days, it will give you time to process today and to think if there is anything you would like my help with understanding,” Akna replied, standing up from her seat, smiling at Azula as she walked the girl out of the hut. “Try and have a good afternoon Azula.”

“Thank you, I will try, bye Akna,” Azula replied, squinting a bit at the brightness of the sun as it hit her in the eyes. Walking slowly through the village, she contemplated what she discussed with Akna. She knew that the older woman was correct but she felt like accepting what had happened to her was something she didn’t want to do. 

Smiling at a small group of children who were having a snowball fight, she remembered the first time she had thrown a snowball, it was at her brother and it made her laugh and squeal as one was thrown back at her. Her mother had come out and happily watched them playing together, throwing a snowball at each of them. Azula remembered her mother picking her up and placing a soft kiss on her cheek before carrying her inside and cleaning the snow off her. It was one of her happier memories she had with her mother and she cherished it.


	12. Chapter 12

Finding herself outside of her hut, Azula entered the building and sighed a sigh of relief when she felt the warmth coming off the fire. Warming herself up, she smiled when she saw Ty Lee enter the main room from the small bathroom.

“Are you feeling any better?” Ty Lee asked as she walked over to Azula and gently cupped her face.

“A little,” Azula replied, pulling Ty Lee in for a hug. Taking a deep breath in Azula closed her eyes and let the familiar scent comfort her. She had had a long day and needed some comfort, something she would never admit out loud. “What did you get up to while I was seeing Akna?” she asked, still holding onto the other girl.

“I went to the dining hall and saw that it was empty so I went to the main campfire and talked to Aang for a bit. We fed Appa and Momo and brushed out Appa’s fur. Katara joined us once we had finished and she asked about you. I told her that the pain from your injuries was starting to bother you again so she offered to take you back to the stream today if you want to go back out but if you do we would need to leave soon,” Ty Lee replied, gently pulling out of the hug, placing a tender kiss on Azula’s forehead.

“I’m tired but I’m tired because I can’t sleep and I can’t sleep because of the injuries. What do you think I should do?” Azula asked, feeling overwhelmed at having to make a decision.

“Azula, my sweetest, take a deep breath in for me,” Ty Lee said, taking deep breaths in with Azula until she saw the other girl begin to calm down. “How about we go and do a healing session so you can sleep when we get back. I’ve already gotten out a tank top for you and a pair of thin cotton shorts so it’ll be easier to heal you. There is only one thing different Katara would like to try and that’s leaving the stream water on you after the session to see if the spirit energy helps with anything. I already went about getting a large towel to wrap you in if you’re up for it,” Ty Lee added, taking hold of Azula’s hand and leading her to the bedroom.

“I guess we can try it, I’m close to trying just about anything to make the pain go away,” Azula replied, taking off her jacket and shirt, and putting the tank top on. 

“When we get back I’ll make you a nice hot pot of Uncle Iroh’s special tea, it does have special calming abilities that will hopefully help you sleep,” Ty Lee offered, noticing a new bruise on Azula’s stomach. “Azula, what’s that from?” she asked, lifting up Azula’s tank top up and showing her the new bruise that was above her stomach.

“I don’t know it wasn’t there yesterday. That area was a little tender last night when I had dinner. When I tried the spicy stew it made it hurt more, kind of a burning but I didn’t think much of it,” Azula replied, gently touching the area.

“Azula, that doesn’t sound good at all. I think you should let Katara know and see if she can help when she does the stream healing on you. I would also like to check them all out too once we get back, make sure there are no more surprises, if that is okay with you?” Ty Lee asked, doing a quick check of the bruises as Azula stood there in her thin shorts and tank top.

“That’s okay, we should probably keep an eye on them after every session and between the sessions just to make sure no more like the one on my stomach appear out of nowhere,” Azula agreed, putting her thicker clothing on over her stream outfit.

“We will from now on,” Ty Lee agreed. Grabbing the large, thick, blue towel from the bed, she put it into a bag she was given by Katara and placed the bag over her shoulder. Checking to see if Azula was really to leave, she gave the other girl’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

Quickly placing some more wood onto the fire, they exited the building and walked through a few rows of huts before they got into the centre of the village. Noticing Sokka walking around and chatting to everyone, Ty Lee took Azula’s hand and tried to steer them away from the teenage boy.

“Ty Lee, can you please just tell me one thing,” Sokka said once he had run over to them.

“What would you like to know?” Ty Lee asked, making sure she put herself between Azula and Sokka.

“Did I do anything wrong while with Suki for her to decide to end it with me?” Sokka asked, his blue eyes big and round. 

“Sokka, I have told you before, I really have, Suki didn’t like the distance and she hated that you barely visited her and when you did it was always while Aang was doing Avatar business in the Earth Kingdom. Maybe you should think on that for a few days,” Ty Lee replied, not really in the mood to deal with Sokka today.

“I’ve been thinking about it for months, and I can’t come up with anything,” Sokka asked, reaching for Azula and grabbing her tight.

Not knowing what to do or say, Azula could feel her pulse accelerate as her breathing became more intense as hands held tightly onto her upper arms.

“Let her go Sokka,” Ty Lee demanded, pulling his hands off Azula. “How about you do us all a favour and go visit her and find out why she dumped you in person. Goodbye Sokka.”

Gently placing a hand on Azula’s lower back, Ty Lee guided her out of the mass of people that had started to gather and took her over to the side where nobody was. “Azula, tell me what’s going through your mind.”

“Thoughts, bad thoughts, I don’t like it when people touch me and he grabbed me and I felt trapped, like I couldn’t move or do anything and it scared me,” Azula admitted, trying to calm down her breathing.

“It’s okay to feel that, I’m sorry that he grabbed you, he shouldn’t have,” Ty Lee replied, offering her hand to hold which Azula took gratefully.

“We should probably go and meet up with Aang and Katara before the sun sets anymore than it already has,” Azula said, wanting to get her mind off the day’s events.

“Only if you are sure you want to,” Ty Lee replied, still a little worried by Azula’s reaction when she was grabbed.

“I want to,” Azula confirmed, pulling Ty Lee along with her by their joined hands. “Where was the Avatar when you saw him?”

“He should be in the clearing to the left with Appa,” Ty Lee replied, walking over to them, offering them a small smile.

“To the healing stream we go,” Aang cheered as he glided up onto Appa as the three girls got into the saddle. Making sure they were all in and comfortable before giving them a thumbs up, he held the reins tightly in his hands before patting Appa on the head. “Yip yip my old friend.”

Looking out over the snowy expanse, Azula watched as a colony of penguins waddled around on the land near the open water, some diving in to catch fish. There were a few baby penguins in the middle that looked to be playing with each other. Flying further away from the penguins, Azula watched as their surroundings became white; looking over the side of the saddle she noticed four small huts outside of the village that looked like they hadn’t been touched in a while along with an almost covered path that she guessed used to lead the way to the huts. The terrain was mostly flat but the further out from the village they got little hills began to pop up everywhere.

“Hey, are you okay?” Ty Lee asked, scooting closer to Azula.

“I’m okay, I’m just tired,” Azula replied, offering Ty Lee a small smile.

“You seem to be lost in thought, and you’re being very quiet,” Ty Lee observed, knowing that Azula being quiet didn’t end well.

“I’m just watching the ground below as we fly to the stream. The huts out here have me wondering why they aren’t near the village,” Azula replied, pointing down to part of a hut that still stood even though it had been partially destroyed.

“Hey Katara, what are these huts for that are out here?” Ty Lee asked, now also curious about them.

“I’m not too sure about them but I do know that the ones closer to the village were for hunters. Many generations ago there was a type of animal who wandered out this far and they were good for food. My dad may know something more about them if you ask him,” Katara replied, never really have given them much thought.

“Are we close to the stream?” Azula asked, feeling a slight chill already.

“That line of blue in the distance, that’s the stream, we should be there in a few minutes,” Katara responded, noticing Azula wince slightly but choosing to remain quiet for now.

Getting to the stream, Azula gingerly got off Appa and walked over to the stream and watched as the water shimmered under the sunlight. The stream was still yet Azula could feel something coming from it, it was a feeling of calm and it made her relax slightly.

“I’ve sent Aang and Appa over there so we will have some privacy with no boys around. Azula, Ty Lee mentioned that you would have on a tank top and shorts so we can better heal you, do you want to get ready?” Katara asked, turning around as Azula started to pull off her clothing.

Removing her clothing and handing it to Ty Lee, Azula watched as Ty Lee took out the towel and shoved her clothes into the little bag. Removing her shoes and socks, she stood there next to the stream shivering like crazy. “I’m ready, I think,” she said, hoping that the water was warmer than it looked.

“Okay, what area hurts the most today so I know where to concentrate the healing on?” Katara asked, a little shocked by the bruises she could see on Azula’s legs that were still a dark purple blue colour.

Pulling her shirt up a little she pointed to the large bruise above her stomach. “Here, this hurts a lot and it’s only come up over the last day. My shoulders and back hurt second most,” Azula replied pulling her shirt back down.

“I will do my best,” Katara responded, keeping it short as she didn’t realise the extent of the injuries. “The stream is calm today, please get in and float on your back,” Katara added, watching as Azula tested the temperature of the water.

“It’s freezing cold!” Azula shrieked, hesitating to get in.

“Come on Azula, just think how much better you will feel after you get healed a little,” Ty Lee said, trying to convince Azula to get into the water.

“Fine,” Azula replied through gritted teeth as she got into the freezing cold water and floated on her back.

“I’m going to start with your stomach,” Katara said, moving the water around Azula as she started to heal the girl. Concentrating on what she was doing, Katara slowly moved the water back and forth over Azula’s stomach and it was like she could sense where the large bruise was. Her instincts were telling her that there was definitely something worse under it. Confining the water to the one spot over Azula’s stomach, Katara moved it around in a circular pattern until she felt like it wasn’t a concern anymore. 

Spending a good ten minutes going over the rest of Azula’s body with her healing; Katara could see the girl getting colder as each minute passed. “I think we’ll finish up now,” she said, allowing Azula to get up.

Barely able to feel any of her limbs, Azula held on to the side of the stream and tried to stop herself from shaking. Watching as Ty Lee and Katara came over to her they both offered her a hand and pulled her out of the stream and up onto the snow covered ground.

“Here, let’s try to get you warm,” Ty Lee said, pulling Azula to her feet before wrapping the large, thick, blue towel around her.

Pulling the towel tightly around her body, Azula was thankful when Ty Lee pulled her close, sharing her body heat. “I feel a little better,” she softly said, resting her head on Ty Lee’s shoulder.

“When we get back into our hut you can sit by the fire and warm up,” Ty Lee softly replied, placing a tender kiss on Azula’s head.

Walking over to where Aang, Katara, and Appa were, they joined the group and listened to the conversation.

“Anyway, Azula, feel any better?” Aang asked, leaning against Appa.

“I feel a little better; it doesn’t hurt as much to move. I think I’ve just had a long day and need some rest,” Azula replied, shivering as a bout of wind blew through the area.

“How about we head back to the village, the sun is starting to set,” Katara suggested, getting up into Appa’s saddle.

“Sounds good,” Aang replied. Turning to Azula and Ty Lee he grinned. “Allow me to help you up.” Creating a small gust of wind he used it to lift the two girls up and into the saddle with ease.

“Um, thank you,” Ty Lee said, sitting down in the saddle and pulling Azula close to help warm her up.

“Yip Yip Appa,” Aang sang out, feeling the giant air bison begin to soar through the sky.

“How do you think the healing went this time Katara?” Ty Lee asked, wanting to know if she thought it helped.

“I feel like it went okay. The big bruise I could sense something was under it so I healed it until I felt nothing bad. I did a general heal of everything else just to relieve some pain,” Katara replied, watching as Azula pulled the towel closer around her.

“Thank you Katara. My chi paths are still blocked aren’t they?” Azula asked, still not feeling the energy from her bending flowing through her body.

“They still are,” Katara confirmed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I don’t expect them to heal overnight,” Azula replied, feeling colder and colder as each minute passed.

“When all the bruising is gone I’ll try a technique I have learned to try and get them to mend,” Ty Lee said, moving position so she could sit behind Azula and pull her close.

“Okay,” Azula agreed, leaning back into Ty Lee, feeling a little warmth penetrate into her back.

“When we get back into the village I’ll let my father know how today went. He’s been a bit busy trying to keep Sokka’s mind off Suki. He took Sokka out fishing today to give him some words of advice,” Katara said, trying to start some small talk.

“Sokka still isn’t taking things well? I saw a girl almost throw herself at him yesterday and he didn’t bat an eyelid,” Ty Lee replied, wondering if she should have a word with him.

“He was a mess after the initial break up, then he was angry, followed by being his normal self but since he got the letter from Toph in Suki’s handwriting he’s gone back to being a mess and crying over every little thing. I think he should be fine in a few days, he started to perk up a bit more today,” Katara responded, glad she was able to talk to someone about it.

“If he doesn’t go back to his normal self in a few days I can have a talk to him. I worked closely with Suki for a while,” Ty Lee offered, knowing how the Kyoshi Warrior was.

“That would be nice,” Katara replied, stretching out a little. “Do you have any plans for the night?”

“I think when we get back we’ll just go straight to our hut. Azula is freezing so I want to warm her up for a bit then send her to bed, she’s very tired,” Ty Lee responded, moving Azula’s wet hair to the side.

“I feel like I could sleep for days,” Azula replied, yawning loudly.

“I don’t think we’ll be at dinner today not unless you feel like it,” Ty Lee said to Azula, watching as the girl shook her head.

“I would suggest having something light to eat when you feel up to it, don’t push yourself, your stomach hasn’t been faring very well lately,” Katara said, feeling Appa start to descend as they came to the village.

“I’ll grab us both something light for dinner and bring it back to our hut, sound good?” Ty Lee asked, trying to keep Azula warm.

“It sounds good, get some bread too?” Azula replied, liking the freshly baked bread that was on offer every night.

“I won’t forget it. How about we get you back to the hut now so you can get warm,” Ty Lee said. Getting up she leapt off Appa’s saddle and landed firmly on the ground, bag still by her side. Helping Azula down, she thanked Aang, Katara, and Appa for helping them out.

“I’m freezing and wet,” Azula complained as they quickly made their way back to their hut.

“I know, we’ll get you warmed up as soon as we can,” Ty Lee replied, leading them back to their hut while trying to avoid running into anyone.

Getting back to their hut, Azula pushed the door open and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the fire was still burning. Watching as Ty Lee added a few more pieces of wood to it; Azula dragged a chair over and sat in it, absorbing what warmth she could get.

Placing the bag down on one of the benches in their little kitchen area, Ty Lee went into the bedroom and rifled through their pile of clothing, pulling out a couple of items of clean, warm clothing. Grabbing the comb before walking out of the room, she entered the main room and placed the clothes down on the large chair to warm up. Putting the comb down next to her bag Ty Lee quickly went into the bathroom and grabbed another towel before joining Azula.

“Is it okay if I try to dry your hair a little before you get sick?” Ty Lee asked, watching as it dripped down Azula’s back.

“It’s okay,” Azula replied, feeling Ty Lee take her hair out of the classic Fire Nation style she wore it in.

Enjoying the feeling of having someone gently massaging her scalp, Azula closed her eyes and leaned back into the chair. She could feel the water leaving her hair as the towel absorbed it. Feeling nothing for a few moments, she softly smiled when she felt the familiar feeling of a comb gently running through her long dark brown hair. 

“I’m going to put it in a braid now that it’s mostly dry,” Ty Lee said, beginning to section out Azula’s hair and braiding it.

“Once you’re done I would like to get changed, the towel isn’t helping anymore, I think it’s too wet,” Azula replied, feeling her hair being tied off at the end.

“Let’s get you dressed now,” Ty Lee said, having perfected braiding hair a long time ago.

Standing up, Azula removed the towel and threw it onto the floor out of the way of the fire. “These clothes are sticking to me,” she said prying off the tank top.

“We should definitely get them off you,” Ty Lee replied, taking the wet clothing to the bathroom after Azula had taken them off.

Wrapping a dry towel around her body, Azula felt a little better now that nothing was clinging against her skin. Drying off the remaining water from her body, Azula sat back down and took a deep breath in. For some reason she felt embarrassed and she didn’t know why.

“Would you like to get dressed now?” Ty Lee asked, handing Azula her underwear.

“I guess,” Azula replied, opening up the towel and letting it hang from her shoulders as she put them on.

“Would you be okay if I checked to see if the bruising is healing or would you rather wait until later on?” Ty Lee asked, noticing the change in Azula’s behaviour.

“You can do it now,” Azula replied, watching as Ty Lee walked up to her and gently removed the towel, sitting it down on the chair.

“The main bruise above your stomach is much lighter. None of the bruising is black or purple anymore, it’s mainly a mix of blue and green. I think it will be gone in the week or so. Your wrist seems to not be swollen anymore either, I think you’re healing nicely,” Ty Lee said, making sure she thoroughly checked the injured areas.

Noticing that Azula didn’t have a response, Ty Lee got concerned. Her brows furrowed together and she lifted Azula’s chin up so she could look her in the eyes. “What’s wrong?” she gently asked, studying the girl’s face.

“I don’t know, I don’t feel good and everything seems to be getting to me. I don’t like that I’m taking so long to heal, I don’t like the look of the bruises on my body. I want to feel like me again but without the world domination and the losing myself and going crazy part. I’m tired Ty Lee,” Azula replied words spilling from her mouth. Taking a moment to take a deep breath in she felt like she was going to cry again.

“Azula, my dearest, healing sometimes takes a while and I know that it hurts and you don’t like it but it is something your body needs to do. You’ve just gotten out of a situation that was horrible, it’s going to take a little bit to adjust and you can take all the time you need. I’m here for you every step of the way and I want you to know that. If there is anything I can do to help right now let me know,” Ty Lee responded, watching as Azula tried to compose herself.

“I would like to put a shirt on and have some tea,” Azula replied, rubbing at her eyes.

Getting Azula her shirt, Ty Lee handed it to her and went into the small kitchen area. “What kind of tea would you like?” she asked, going through their limited flavours.

“I would like a cup of Uncle Iroh’s blend, I find it soothing,” Azula replied, sitting down on the large chair and moving the table in front of it. Watching as Ty Lee put the teapot and tea leaves on the table, Azula placed the correct amount of tea leaves into the infuser as Ty Lee placed a pot of water over the fire to boil.

Tracing one of the bruises on her thigh, Azula lost track of time until she heard the water being poured into the teapot. Noticing two mugs sitting in front of her she wondered when Ty Lee had the time to go and get them.

“We just need to give the tea leaves a few moments to infuse with the water,” Ty Lee said, trying to keep the room as quiet as she could so nothing would overwhelm Azula.

“Okay,” Azula replied, scooting closer to Ty Lee so she could rest her head on Ty Lee’s shoulder.

Wrapping an arm around Azula, Ty Lee pulled her close and placed a kiss on her head as she watched the flames of the fire dancing over the logs, warming up the room.

“I think the tea should be ready now,” Azula said after a few minutes, using the time to gather her thoughts.

“I think you’re right,” Ty Lee agreed, releasing Azula and pouring them both out a cup of tea.

Taking a few sips of her tea Azula let its warmth warm her up from the inside. She still felt a little cold but she knew that was because she hadn’t bothered to put her pants on yet.

“Next time Zuko comes to visit, remind me to ask him to bring some more tea in different flavours,” Azula said, hoping she had enough of the brew left to last a few weeks.

“Can do,” Ty Lee replied, taking a long sip of her tea, enjoying the flavours it produced in her mouth.

“I’m really tired but I don’t feel like I can lie down just yet,” Azula said after a few minutes, feeling like she had calmed down a little.

“Would you like me to lay with you for a little bit until you feel ready to sleep?” Ty Lee offered, putting her empty cup down on the table.

“I would like that, but in a minute,” Azula replied, yawning as a wave of tiredness hit her.

Feeling a bit restless, Azula put her cup of tea down and stretched out on the large chair, resting her head in Ty Lee’s lap. Smiling softly to herself when she felt Ty Lee begin to gently massage her head, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

Hearing Azula’s breath begin to even out and feeling her body relax, Ty Lee knew that the girl had fallen into a light sleep. Knowing she had to get Azula into bed so she could get a good night’s sleep, Ty Lee gently shook the girl awake. “Come on Azula, let’s get you into bed, you fell asleep.”

“I didn’t,” Azula mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Standing up Ty Lee walked over and picked up the pants and socks she had gotten out earlier. Helping Azula put them on; she made sure they were sitting right before she led the girl into their bedroom, getting her to lie down on the bed.

“Lay with me?” Azula asked, pulling the blanket up. “Just for a little bit,” she added, patting the spot next to her.

“Of course,” Ty Lee replied, sliding into the bed next to Azula and getting under the warm blanket.

Rolling onto her side, Azula repositioned her pillow and got comfortable. She had one arm under her pillow, and her top knee was bent over her bottom leg which was stretched out. Feeling Ty Lee move, she smiled when she felt an arm wrap around her midsection, pulling her close. Feeling loved and safe Azula closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to thank my wonderful beta reader skylarkblue for betaing every chapter so far <3 And a big thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented so far <3

_“Help! Someone help me!” she screamed out, hearing her voice echo through the large ice cell, unable to see where it ended as it seemed to go on for forever and ever. Chains pinched at her wrists and ankles holding her in place above the ground as she withered in agony, pain shooting through her body. Screaming out again, her throat felt dry. She screamed and screamed until nothing more came out of her mouth, her voice was now gone._

_“You are nothing but a leech; you suck the life out of everyone around you.”_

_“You should have been thrown into the ocean when you were born.”_

_“The only thing you are good at is causing misery and suffering.”_

_“No one has ever loved you.”_

_“You are nothing more than a parasite that should be killed.”_

_“Your mother never wanted you; she only wanted your brother.”_

_“Your father only used you because you were weak.”_

_“You deserved everything that happened to you.”_

_“It should have been you who was exiled; no one would have missed you.”_

_The voices filled the room, coming from all directions, taunting her, insulting her, telling her some of her deepest fears._

_“Ty Lee is going to leave you, no one ever stays.”_

_“Zuko has Mai now, you are nothing to him.”_

_“Your parents never want to see you again.”_

_“Once you are better no one is going to care about you.”_

_Watching as everything went black and silent, Azula blinked her eyes and hoped for it to stop._

_The sun was shining as five year old Azula stood in the courtyard at the palace. Her father stood tall in front of her, looking down at her, a bucket of ice cold water sitting on the ground next to him with a cloth inside._

_“Azula, what do you do when you are captured by the enemy and they torture you?”_

_“Why would I be tortured?” Azula innocently asked, her eyes big as she looked up to her father._

_“Because they do this,” Ozai replied, grabbing the soaking wet cloth and holding it over Azula’s face, gripping onto the little girl as she kicked out._

_Azula could feel her throat and lungs burning, she couldn’t breathe, she felt light headed, she wanted to know why her father was hurting her. Her vision started to go dark then she could breathe again, sucking in large gulps of air._

_Tears began streaming down her face as she tried to run away, only being pulled back by her hair. She felt her father hit her, pain radiating down her legs as his hand hit her backside again, harder._

_“You are a terrible daughter, you need to learn this now,” he screamed, not caring about his child at all._

_The woods around her were dark, she could barely see where she was going, she ran as fast as she could, her feet and legs being cut open by branches that stuck out from the ground. She was wearing only a tank top and shorts that had been torn almost to shreds. Looking behind her she couldn’t see what was after her but she kept on running, scared for her life. Birds flew over head, big and black as they started circling around her, swooping her, cutting her arms open with their beaks. Seeing a clearing ahead, Azula came crashing to a halt as her father stood there, fire blazing in his hand as he held Ty Lee around the throat._

_“You have done nothing but disappoint me, you should have been Fire Lord but you couldn’t handle it,” her father said, his voice deep and all around her as Ty Lee struggled in his grip._

_Looking around herself, unable to speak, Azula saw her mother, her brother, Mai, Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, her grandfather, Uncle Iroh, and her cousin Lu Ten. They were see-through almost, like a spirit, and they all looked at her like she had done nothing but ruin their lives._

_“You have let me down and now you will pay with all of their lives,” Ozai said, cackling with laughter as he held Ty Lee tighter in his grasp._

_Watching as her father set the entire woods on fire with one flame from his hand, Azula looked up at the night sky, it was pitch black and the only thing she could see was a comet, soaring through the expanse having lost its tail as it was set on a collision course with the clearing._

_Trying to run away from the scene in front of her, Azula pumped her legs, feeling her calves burn, but no matter what she did she didn’t seem to move. Watching as her father extinguished the fire in his hand, he laid the same hand on Ty Lee’s head and all Azula could hear was Ty Lee screaming as she saw blood start to drip down from the girl’s eyes and nose. Trying to scream for him to stop she couldn’t get past the lump in her throat that was blocking her voice. Azula helplessly watched as blood started to pour out of everyone around her, she was only able to scream as a pit of lava opened up between her and the people she cared about as they were swallowed by the pit, vanishing from sight only leaving her father and Ty Lee standing there surrounded by lava._

_“You caused this, you disobeyed me and now they have paid the price for your betrayal,” Ozai said, his voice booming all around her as she fell to the ground, landing on her knees._

_“Father, please, don’t,” she begged, knowing that she couldn’t lose Ty Lee again like she had with everyone else._

_“You were weak, you failed me, now you know the pain of loss,” Ozai screamed, pushing Ty Lee into the pit of lava._

Waking up, gasping for air, Azula felt hot tears run down her face. Letting out a sob she felt herself being pulled into a tight hug. Gripping onto the front of Ty Lee’s shirt, Azula placed a hand over the girl’s heart to make sure it was still beating and that Ty Lee was still alive.

“It’s okay Azula, you’re safe, I promise,” Ty Lee softly said, rubbing calming circles on Azula’s back. Gently pulling Azula onto her lap she rocked them back and forth, trying to get the crying girl to calm down. 

Waiting until Azula’s sobs turned into soft cries, Ty Lee gently sat Azula up and wiped away her tears before handing her a cloth so she could blow her nose. Handing Azula the cup of water she kept next to her bed, she made sure the girl took a few sips before she sat it back down.

“I had a nightmare,” Azula softly said, resting her head against Ty Lee’s shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ty Lee asked, placing a soft kiss on Azula’s forehead.

“I dreamt that I was in a cell chained up high so I couldn’t touch the ground and I kept hearing bad things while I screamed out. It then changed to when I was young and my father first hurt me, I think I was four or five and my mother had gone out to an event with Zuko, it was exactly like the day it really happened. My father tried to teach me about being tortured and he held a wet cloth over my face until I couldn’t breathe and then hit me for failing his test. After that my nightmare changed again and it was really bad and horrible. I was running through a forest I think and the comet was barrelling towards us. I ran into a clearing and my father was there, fire bending, and he was holding you as his prisoner. He told me I disobeyed and disappointed him and that I deserve what I got. Everyone then appeared as spirits and my father put his fire out and then burned you and blood ran down your face. He then did it to everyone else. The ground opened up into a pit of lava and everyone I think got pushed into it by him and at the very end he pushed you in and told me I failed him and now I will feel the pain of loss. It was horrible Ty Lee, it was really bad,” Azula replied, fresh tears running down her face.

Wrapping Azula up tightly in her arms, Ty Lee placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “It sounds like a very bad nightmare, I’m sorry Azula. I’m still here, I’m not hurt or dead, I’m very much alive and in one piece.” Placing Azula’s hand over her heart, she held onto it until Azula calmed down a little more.

“Ty Lee can you please promise me that you will never go near my father for as long as he is alive,” Azula said, worried that something bad was going to happen.

“Azula, I promise you that I will not go near him at all,” Ty Lee replied, wiping the tears from the girl’s face.

“The only time I want to see him again is when he is dead,” Azula said, taking a deep breath in.

“Same here,” Ty Lee agreed, starting to gently rock them again.

“What if he escapes prison?” Azula asked, scared of what might happen while she was in her current state.

“I don’t think he will but if he does I think he would be caught before he could leave the prison grounds. He has no bending and he isn’t that good at hand to hand combat, he was adequate at most but after being locked away for so long I don’t think he has it in him to get far,” Ty Lee replied, trying to make Azula feel a little better.

“I’m just worried that he may try to come after me,” Azula admitted, knowing that her father was capable of breaking out if he really wanted to.

“I don’t think he will, he was moved to a different prison about a year ago, one that was more secure. I don’t even know where it is or what it’s like, Zuko and Mai wouldn’t tell me anything as they said the less people that know the location the better,” Ty Lee replied, trying to offer some form of comfort.

“So he could be anywhere?” Azula responded, feeling a little bit of panic rise inside of her.

“I can tell you now he isn’t with any of the water tribes at either end of the pole, I do know that much and I doubt he’s in any land once inhabited by the Air Nation. That would only leave the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation and they are both pretty far away,” Ty Lee said, trying to squash the panic she saw in Azula’s eyes.

“The Earth Kingdom does have really good prisons, like really good, Aang couldn’t escape them, he needed help to get free,” Azula said, feeling a little better about the situation.

“I’m pretty sure it was Zuko who helped him escape too,” Ty Lee replied, watching a small smile appear on Azula’s face.

“I bet it was too,” Azula replied, knowing all too well that it was her brother.

“Are you feeling any better now?” Ty Lee asked, noticing that Azula had calmed down a fair bit.

“I am, it’s starting to fade a little now. Do you think there is still food left in the hall?” Azula asked as her stomach rumbled.

“It’s only just gotten fully dark outside so I think there is plenty of food left,” Ty Lee replied as Azula shifted off her lap and stood up, offering her a hand.

“Good, I’m starving,” Azula responded, walking into the main room and putting her shoes on. Noticing Ty Lee behind her, she watched as the girl put on her pink warm boots.

Heading out of their hut they made their way over to the dining hall and entered the building. Getting some food they sat down with Aang and Katara and tried to enjoy the rest of the night as best they could.


	14. Chapter 14

Lying awake on her bed Azula took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. It was very early, the sun was just starting to rise and everything was quiet. Opening her eyes Azula rolled onto her side and watched Ty Lee’s sleeping form as the girl breathed in and out, her chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern creating a sense of calm in the room.

It was the tenth morning she had woken up in the Southern Water Tribe and for the first time she didn’t feel a sense of dread washing over her. The last few days she had spent most of her time resting and trying to regain her strength in between visits to the spirit water to heal her body. 

Smiling softly when Ty Lee made a sound in her sleep and rolled over, Azula reached over and pulled the blanket back up so the girl wouldn’t get cold. Resting her hand on Ty Lee’s chest for a moment she felt the warmth radiate through her skin. 

Stifling a yawn, Azula rolled onto her back and snuggled into her bed and closed her eyes. Concentrating on her breathing like she was taught by Akna, she tried to go back to sleep. Giving up after half an hour or so, Azula sighed and got up, heading into the main room. Cleaning up the ash and soot from the fire, she piled up some kindling and wood and stood back to make sure it wouldn’t fall over and set the hut on fire.

Approving of her work she bent down next to the pile of wood and took a deep breath in. Holding her hand out in front of her she concentrated and willed a flame to appear in her hand. Stretching her fingers out and cracking her knuckles she tried again, this time trying to get the energy to flow through her body. Feeling nothing happen, Azula rolled her eyes and put her jacket and shoes on.

Exiting her hut, Azula grabbed the unlit fire stick from next to the door and walked into the middle of the village and lit the stick using the large communal fire. Looking around at her surroundings all the huts she could see were dark, no fires alight inside. Hearing the water softly lapping up against the land they were on, Azula took a deep breath in and enjoyed the smell of the salt water.

Seeing no one else around this early in the morning Azula headed back to her hut and lit the fire. Going into the small kitchen area she put some water into a pot and placed it above the fire to boil while she prepared a tea pot with Uncle Iroh’s special mix.

Pouring herself out a hot cup of tea she curled up on the seat and stared into the fire. Watching as the flames flickered, Azula sipped at her tea.  _ “I wonder when or if I’ll ever be able to bend again, maybe I tried too soon even if I do feel a little better each day. Hopefully once the bruising on my wrists and ankles go away I may be able to start small. When Ty Lee wakes up maybe we can do something.” _

Finishing the last of her tea, Azula headed into the small bathroom and cleaned herself up, changing into some warmer clothing while Ty Lee peacefully slept. Rubbing her right wrist she sat back down on the large, comfortable seat and observed her wrist. Bruises were still present on both sides, green and blue in colour; they had come a long way over the last ten days, changing from almost black to the colour they currently were. They didn’t really bother Azula anymore as she knew that soon they would be gone just like the other bruises that used to cover her body. Now only eight bruises remained, two on each wrist and two on each ankle. Over the six sessions of healing she had had with Katara, they concentrated on healing most of the internal damage followed by the surface damage, able to remove all bar the protrusion bruises over two days.

“Good morning, you’re up early,” Ty Lee said as she entered the room, sitting down next to Azula.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?” Azula replied, feeling a soft kiss being pressed against her cheek.

“I slept good, I had a dream that we were on a beach sipping fancy drinks while laying under a warm sun, it was nice,” Ty Lee replied, stretching out her limbs.

“That sounds nice. I was lucky and had no dreams or nightmares last night. Only downside was I’ve been awake longer than the sun has been up,” Azula responded, turning to face Ty Lee.

“You know you can wake me up if you can’t sleep, I’d rather keep you company so you don’t get bored,” Ty Lee offered, looking into Azula’s golden eyes.

“I know but you looked so peaceful and I wanted you to get as much rest as you needed,” Azula said, reaching out and holding Ty Lee’s hand.

“If you ever need me, wake me up,” Ty Lee replied, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on Azula’s lips.

“I will,” Azula replied, offering Ty Lee a small smile.

“So, what did you get up to this morning?” Ty Lee asked, getting up and heading into the small kitchenette area.

“Not much, I just relit the fire and had a cup of tea,” Azula replied, watching the other girl frolic around.

“Did you try to fire bend again? You have the look on your face,” Ty Lee responded, picking up on the subtle expression on the former princess’s face.

“I did and it didn’t work,” Azula huffed, crossing her arms.

“All we can do is give it some time,” Ty Lee replied, warming herself up by the fire.

“But how much time Ty Lee? What if I can never fire bend again?” Azula asked, standing up and pacing around the room.

“I don’t know Azula and if you can never fire bend again there are different ways you can learn to defend yourself,” Ty Lee replied, keeping her voice calm.

“What if I don’t want to learn different ways? All because Zuko sent me here to live in an ice prison I may not ever be able to live my life to its fullest. I was beaten and tortured, had any way to defend myself removed, and had all my walls ripped down and stomped on to the point I even now believe I’m barely worth anything, it feels really bad,” Azula said, her voice rising as she continued to pace back and forth and vent her frustrations.

“And you have every right to feel that way, what happened to you never should have happened but it did and from now one of the things you can do is to get better and try to regain what you lost and I’m going to be here for you every step of the way. I’m not going to give up on you, Azula,” Ty Lee replied, walking over to the girl and stopping her in her tracks.

“Everyone will give up on me eventually, I don’t deserve people being nice to me,” Azula responded, feeling herself being pulled into a tight embrace.

“I am not going to give up on you, not now, not ever. You are not the person you used to be and everyone here can see that, you are a wonderful person Azula and you mean so much to me,” Ty Lee said, rubbing Azula’s back until the girl relaxed in her arms.

“I just want to feel like me again,” Azula softly replied, holding tightly onto Ty Lee.

“Only time will help and over the next few weeks I can try some massage techniques to see if I can get the energy to flow through your body and into your chi points again but I can’t promise anything will happen,” Ty Lee responded, pulling out of the hug and holding Azula’s hands in her own.

“I would like that and even if it does nothing I will at least know that we tried everything we could. I also don’t know why I feel so worked up about it, I haven’t been able to bend in over a year one would think I would be used to it,” Azula said, taking a deep breath in.

“I think you’re just processing things at your own pace but now you can also see different outcomes and even if they don’t meet your standard you can still accept the outcome whatever it may be. You are learning and every day you are taking another step in the right direction,” Ty Lee replied, trying to encourage the other girl.

“And I want to keep going in the right direction, I really do but sometimes I’m scared,” Azula admitted, knowing she wouldn’t be judged.

“It’s okay to feel scared, it’s normal,” Ty Lee responded, her stomach rumbling.

“I think we should maybe go and get something to eat,” Azula said, leading Ty Lee into the bedroom. “I will get you out some warm clothing if you want to go clean up.”

Heading into the small bathroom Ty Lee went to the toilet and cleaned up. Taking off her clothing she folded up her pyjamas and walked into the bedroom and placed the clothing on her bed. Slipping into clean clothing and putting her shoes on, she smiled at Azula and led them to the large dining hall.

Grabbing a plate of food each they made their way over to the last table and sat down at the end of it. Looking around the room there were only about ten other people spread out over the tables not really talking to one another.

“This bread is nice and warm,” Azula said, biting into her buttered piece of bread.

“It is, it tastes good with the sausage,” Ty Lee replied, quickly eating her food, not paying much attention to anything else.

“I really don’t know how you can eat a full meal this early in the day. I feel like I’m struggling here just eating bread and oats,” Azula responded, looking up as the doors to the dining hall opened as more people walked in.

“Hi Ty Lee, hi Azula,” Aang cheerfully said, greeting the two girls as he walked over with a plate of food.

“Hi Aang,” Ty Lee replied through a mouthful of food.

“Morning,” Azula added, looking down into her bowl of oats.

“Have you two got any plans for today?” Aang asked, biting into his piece of fruit.

“We have nothing planned really, we were just going to see what the day brings,” Azula replied, not having much interest in eating.

“Me, Katara, and Appa were going to go back to the ice prison and try to hide it as best we can, you are both free to come with us if you want,” Aang offered.

“I thought that the water benders had already removed all traces of everything,” Ty Lee replied, looking puzzled.

“Chief Hakoda took a few benders out the day after the camp closed but halfway through removing all traces it started to snow and every time they have been back since it’s been the same weather conditions. I think the campground is totally removed but part of the path to the prison may remain and if it hasn’t snowed over by now it’s our job to remove it and to make sure the prison doors are hidden,” Aang responded, filling them in on what had happened.

“Should I really go with you just in case I may be thrown in there again?” Azula asked, wondering if it was wise to go or not.

“You won’t ever be locked up in there again so go, get out, have some fun,” Chief Hakoda said as he walked over to them.

“I guess we will both tag along then,” Azula said, raising an eyebrow at Ty Lee.

“Can we at least finish breakfast first?” Ty Lee asked, taking a big bite of bread.

“We will head off in an hour, how does that sound? Katara just walked in and she looks like she’s not fully awake yet so it will give everyone some time to get ready,” Aang said, standing up and waving to the blue eyed girl.

“I’m not really hungry so I may just go get a thicker jacket and meet you near Appa soon,” Azula replied, standing up only for Ty Lee to pull her back down.

“If we are going away for some time you need to eat a little more, you get cranky when you’re hungry,” Ty Lee said, watching Azula as she took a bite of her food while glaring at her.

Eating half a bowl of oats as quickly as she could, Azula stood up and excused herself from the table, pulling Ty Lee along with her as she exited the building and hurried back to her hut. Standing in front of the dwindling fire, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

“What’s wrong?” Ty Lee asked, knowing that something was off with the other girl.

“When Aang said we were going back to the prison and Chief Hakoda basically told us to go with him and Katara I just started to panic as last time I was there things weren’t that great and I was in a bad place. I’m just scared that things may get to me and while I don’t want them too I don’t know how I will react when I see the prison,” Azula replied, letting Ty Lee know how she was feeling.

“Have you thought that seeing the prison being physically buried in front of your eyes may help you to heal a little? It could be cathartic almost and we will have the best seats in the house,” Ty Lee responded as she placed another piece of wood on the fire.

“I didn’t look at it that way, either way I’m going to feel one of two ways and we’ll just have to see I guess,” Azula said, sitting down on the large seat and motioning for Ty Lee to join her.

“And I will be there by your side,” Ty Lee replied, placing a quick kiss on Azula’s hand.

\---

Making their way over to Appa, Azula grabbed the apple out of her pocket and handed it to the large sky bison when they were close enough. Looking around, not many other people were out and about. There were three people sitting by the large communal fire watching as two children nearby played in the snow. One other person was out who was just walking around the small village.

“Where do you think Aang and Katara are? I thought we were going to be late but I guess not,” Ty Lee asked while giving Appa a pat.

“I don’t know where they are, maybe Katara is still getting ready,” Azula replied, thankful that there was a seat nearby.

“Never mind, I see them coming,” Ty Lee said, waving at the two benders.

Getting up from her seat Azula took a deep breath in and held it for a moment before exhaling. Putting on a smile she greeted Aang and Katara and got into the saddle along with Ty Lee and Katara. Watching as Aang glided himself up, Azula felt them lift off from the ground.

Watching the ground below as they flew higher into the sky, Azula could hear Ty Lee, Aang, and Katara talking but she didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying.

The closer they flew towards the location of the prison Azula felt the anxiety within her rise in her chest creating a tightening sensation. Counting the small hills she could see in the distance she tried her best to remain as calm as she could. Seeing a family of polar bear dogs playing together in the snow, Azula watched how the cub ran around its parents and tried to tackle the larger polar bear dog into the ground. Letting a small smile grace her face she watched them until she couldn’t see them anymore.

“Azula, you’re being awfully quiet, are you okay?” Katara asked, hoping to get the attention of the younger girl.

“I’m okay,” Azula replied, shrugging a little as she pulled her jacket tighter around her body, the wind going right through it.

“After our last spirit water healing session, did it help with the last of the pain?” Katara asked, trying to keep a conversation going.

“The pain is now mostly gone, I still get a few cramps but I think that is because my body is still getting used to being able to move around,” Azula replied, shivering as a strong gust of wind blew through the saddle.

“With our last session I did feel that mostly everything was healed. Compared to our first session I would say you have come a long way,” Katara responded, trying to get Azula to open up a little.

“I have, thank you,” Azula replied, going back to looking out at the snow covered ground around them.

Hearing Katara vaguely saying something about joining Aang, Azula softly sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get her body to relax slightly. Feeling an arm wrap around her, Azula turned her head and offered Ty Lee a small smile, snuggling into the girl’s side she rested her head on Ty Lee’s shoulder.

“What’s on your mind?” Ty Lee softly asked so no one bar Azula could hear her.

“I feel more and more anxious the closer we get and I feel like I’m shutting down, my mind is blank and the tightness in my chest won’t go away. I’m starting to think this wasn’t a good idea,” Azula replied, barely above a whisper as Ty Lee held her tighter, placing a kiss on her temple.

“If you want I can tell the other two you don’t feel well and you can stay here with Appa while we check everything out,” Ty Lee responded, gently running her hand up and down Azula’s side.

“It’s okay, I think if you’re by my side I will be okay,” Azula replied, letting herself relax slightly into Ty Lee’s warmth.

“If you need me at any point to do something just tap me or let me know, okay?” Moving a stray strand of hair from her face, Ty Lee looked into Azula’s golden eyes and watched as the girl nodded her head once.

“Hey guys, we are about to fly over where the camp grounds used to be, can you both keep an eye out and see if you notice anything?” Katara asked them as she joined them in the saddle, going to the other side to look out over the side.

Looking down over the side of the saddle, Azula watched as nothing but flat ground covered in snow went by as Appa slowly flew over the area. Feeling them change direction, Azula kept her eyes trained on the ground, making sure nothing looked out of place.

“Notice anything guys?” Aang loudly asked so everyone could hear him.

“Nothing over here,” Katara replied, still looking over the side of the saddle.

“Nothing here either,” Azula added, feeling Ty Lee’s hand on her back.

“That’s good, so far everything is going to plan,” Aang called out as he guided Appa towards where the path to the prison used to be.

“I can already see where the path is visible, only about a quarter of it has been covered,” Ty Lee loudly said, pointing down to the ground below.

“I’ll get us closer to it. Katara are you alright to cover it or do you need help?” Aang asked, knowing it was always nice to offer.

“I’ve got it,” Katara replied, as she stood up and bent the frozen ice below them into a smooth surface.

Watching as the path below them turned into liquid and iced over smoothly, Azula let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding. Seeing the path that led to the prison being destroyed made her feel something inside, something good like she was now certain that she was never going to be sent back there.

“The prison is up ahead, the snow seems to have taken care of part of it but the door is still slightly visible,” Ty Lee said, pointing to the top half of the large metal door.

Turning the frozen water back into a liquid state, Katara made quick work of the door and had it hidden beneath ice in a few moments. Dusting her hands off she turned to face Aang. “I think we are ready to go.”

“I’m just going to do a lap around the prison and then we can go home,” Aang said, wanting to make sure that no back exits existed.

Sitting back down in the saddle, Azula cuddled up to Ty Lee and rested her head against the girl’s shoulder. “That did feel kind of good to see the prison being frozen over.”

“That’s good; it helped a little didn’t it?” Ty Lee replied, gently placing a kiss on Azula’s head.

“It did,” Azula responded, feeling a lot better than she did half an hour ago.

“For once everything is clear and there is nothing to worry about,” Aang said, joining them in the saddle as Appa flew over the ground below heading in the direction of the village.

“It’s only taken us four attempts to get out here over the last few days to make sure everything is covered,” Katara replied, moving closer to Aang.

“The others didn’t have a flying sky bison to get it done as quickly like we do,” Aang responded, relaxing against the saddle.

“At least it’s done now, it’s one less thing we have to worry about,” Katara said, shivering as a big gust of wind blew right through them.

“It is freezing today,” Azula said, trying to bury herself in Ty Lee’s side to stop the cold from turning her to ice.

“It is colder than usual,” Katara replied, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“We may have this change in weather for a while, we’re going to have to stock the fires good tonight,” Ty Lee said, wondering how long there was until they got back to the village.

“I'm going to have such a large meal with lots of soup before bed to help me sleep better,” Aang replied, rubbing his stomach.

“I might do the same, I sleep better when I’m full,” Ty Lee responded, shivering as a large gust of wind came along and hit them hard, moving Appa along with it.

“Okay, we need to get back to the village as soon as possible, this wind is getting ridiculous!” Azula loudly said so she could be heard over the howling of the wind.

“Azula is right, if the wind continues like this and gets stronger we may not make it back,” Katara added, tightly holding on to the saddle.

“I’m going to go up front and get as back as quickly as I can,” Aang said, getting up and quickly making his way to the reins so he could help Appa get them back to the village.

Watching as Aang went up and helped Appa to steer them in the right direction, Azula took a deep breath in and started to feel the panic inside of her again. She could remember a time when nothing like this scared her and now, being older and somewhat wiser, she could see how erratic she had acted and how she had no care for anything, including her own safety at times. Now, with a clearer mind than she had had in the past, she could see the danger around her and she knew that if the wind didn’t let up they may need to find shelter elsewhere for the night and without any supplies they would likely freeze. 

Feeling Ty Lee give her a squeeze, she looked up into light grey eyes. “Do you think we are going to make it back to the village?” she asked, hoping that Ty Lee had a more positive outlook than she did.

“I think we will, we aren’t that far off the village, ten minutes at most. The sun will also be up for quite a while so if we do need to set down we have plenty of time to wait for the wind to settle down so we can head back before sunset,” Ty Lee replied, feeling another strong gust of wind blowing through the saddle.

Closing her eyes, Azula tried to take in Ty Lee’s words. After a few minutes of processing the facts Azula felt a little better. Opening her eyes, she looked around them and she could see the faintest hint of the village in front of them, the smoke from the fire letting her know that they were getting closer and closer.

Safely landing back in the village, they helped Aang to get the saddle off Appa and helped to put a warm blanket over him so he wouldn’t get cold with the wind coming in strong. Making sure that the large sky bison was back in the hut especially built for him, Aang, Katara, Ty Lee and Azula made their way over to the dining hall and got something to eat for lunch, filling their plates up high.

Sitting down at one of the empty tables, they started eating their food, chewing and swallowing their first couple of bites rather quickly. 

“So Azula,” Aang said, biting into a steamed veggie bun. “Did going out today help at all?”

“To be honest it kind of did help. When the door to the prison was frozen over I felt relieved, it was like I could see with my own two eyes that I would never go back there and I never want to,” Azula replied, cutting up a sausage.

“If you continue on your current path I don’t think you will ever be locked up again. You have changed a lot over the last year and it’s all in the right direction. You are nothing like how you used to be and not once have I seen or heard you do anything bad since you got here. I’m proud of you, Azula,” Aang responded, offering her a genuine smile.

“Thanks Aang. I’m trying my best and I hope it really is enough,” Azula replied, a small smile on her face. She wasn’t used to receiving much praise but hearing it from the Avatar made her feel something warm inside, a feeling she usually only associated with when she was with Ty Lee.

“You’re doing good Azula, keep it up,” Sokka said, joining them at the table.

“We haven’t seen you around lately, what have you been up to Sokka?” Ty Lee asked, realising it had been a few days.

“I’ve been busy helping Dad out on the fishing boats, the water has been a bit treacherous the last few days but we still have been able to bring in food and stuff,” Sokka replied, shoving some arctic hen meat into his mouth.

“We noticed the wind was bad when we took Appa out,” Aang added, starting to see a pattern in the weather.

“We are in for a cold front I believe,” Sokka said through a mouthful of food.

“Maybe we should all bunker down in our huts to keep warm over the next few days,” Ty Lee suggested, taking a sip of tea.

“You would like to be bunkered down with Azula, wouldn’t you?” Sokka said in a teasing tone.

“We live together, it would be no different. At least Ty Lee has someone there for things you could only dream of doing,” Azula replied, not liking the way Sokka was trying to lead the conversation.

“I could easily get someone if I wanted to,” Sokka huffed, shoving his mouth full of food.

“Don’t worry Sokka, you’ll meet someone eventually,” Aang said, patting him on the back.

“I hear that Kiri is single again, you may have a chance,” Katara added, watching the expression on her brother’s face go from annoyed to heart eyes in two seconds.

Finishing up the last of the food on her plate, Azula looked around the dining hall and noticed that a lot of people were starting to leave. Checking if Ty Lee was finished eating, she leant in close and asked if they could leave. Excusing herself and Ty Lee, the two girls quickly made their way back to their hut and got the fire going again, warming themselves up for a long few days ahead of them.


	15. Chapter 15

The fire inside the hut burned brightly, filling the room with warmth and a sense of calmness. The shadows of the flames danced on the walls creating a little show as Azula lay on a blanket on the floor with Ty Lee gently massaging her, trying to get something, anything, to flow through her chi points. 

Hearing the wind roar and the snow hit against the side of the hut, Ty Lee tried her best to act like it wasn’t bothering her, instead keeping herself focused on Azula. Running her hands over Azula’s bare back she gently rubbed at the muscles around the chi points trying to get them to relax while not over stimulating them. Ty Lee knew she was doing a good job as every once in a while Azula would let out a small moan. 

Sliding her hands up to Azula’s neck, Ty Lee gently massaged the area. Running her fingers over the area of Azula’s chi point, she could feel where the energy seemed trapped but she couldn’t trace it past that. Working on the knot she felt Azula slightly stiffen beneath her, letting out a small hiss.

“I know it hurts a little but give me another minute and I’ll move on to another area, I just feel energy trapped there and it’s blocking the flow of something,” Ty Lee said, feeling the knot kind of pop under her fingers, relaxing the muscles around it.

“That hurt a little but now it’s starting to feel a little better, I may be able to sleep more comfortably tonight, I hope,” Azula replied, moving her neck a little to release the tension she felt.

“I think we will finish tonight’s massage now as that knot being released got a little bit of energy flowing and I don’t want to disrupt it after it has been blocked for so long,” Ty Lee responded, helping Azula up off the floor.

Grabbing her long sleeved shirt off the chair Azula put it on and stood by the fire, feeling Ty Lee wrap her arms around her waist, her chin resting on her shoulder.

“You are beautiful, Azula.” Placing a soft kiss on the girl’s neck, Ty Lee felt Azula move in her arms, turning to face her.

Leaning in, Azula captured Ty Lee’s lips with her own and softly kissed her, their lips melding together, moving as one.

Hearing a loud, shrill scream echo throughout the village, Ty Lee and Azula broke apart, sharing a look before they quickly put their shoes and jackets on, running outside into the night to see where the sound came from.

Bumping into Meela and Uki, the four of them grabbed a fire stick from the main fire and made their way through the village, not really seeing anyone else around.

“We aren’t crazy, right? You two heard the scream as well?” Azula asked, hoping she wasn’t hearing things.

“You’re not crazy, we heard it too, it was high pitched like a girl screaming,” Uki replied, lighting the path in front of them as they bumped into Chief Hakoda and Aang.

“You heard the scream too?” Aang asked, getting right to the point.

“We did,” Meela replied, confirming it for the Avatar and chief of their tribe.

“If you four want to go together, check out the back of the village and the paths leading out to the hunting cabins. Aang and I will check out the shore, the docks, and the riskier areas of the village, spread out,” Chief Hakoda said, giving everyone directions to follow.

“I think the sound came from near where our huts are, we should start there and go towards the back of camp,” Azula said, thinking of the best course of action to take.

“You’re right, it sounded close and the longer we take to find where it came from the longer they are in danger,” Uki agreed, leading the way through the village.

Making their way through the village and to where their huts were, they checked the area thoroughly, making sure nothing was out of order and everything was still in place. They could still see fires burning inside of some of the huts, showing that everything was well.

Advancing past the last row of huts that were lived in, there were four trails leading out of the village and to the hunting cabins that weren’t used anymore. Examining the trails, Azula realised that they didn’t look safe as they appeared not to have been used in a while. The first two trails had snow so thick and high it was up to her waist, there was no way anyone could have gone up them without leaving a sign that they had been through the area.

Moving onto the last two trails, Azula took the fire off Uki and shone it on the last path as it looked the safest. Seeing no signs of anything she moved onto the third trail and examined it closely. Having had the experience of tracking down her uncle, her brother, and the Avatar and gang for quite a while she felt like this was something she was good at. She knew what to look for and what not to look for, and she was seeing some of those signs to look out for on the third trail. “Whoever it is went down this trail,” Azula said, feeling confident in her judgement.

“How do you know?” Uki asked, taking back the fire stick.

“If you look to the left of the trail about five metres ahead of us you can see the impression of the heel of a shoe in the snow against the wall and another one further up. If these weren’t recent the snow would have covered them up by now,” Azula explained, showing the rest of the group what she had seen.

“Azula is correct, I’ll head back into the village and let Chief Hakoda and Aang know in case we need help,” Meela responded, quickly leaving.

“Okay, since I’m the only one who has experience on these paths I’ll go first and you two follow close behind,” Uki said, holding the fire stick out in front of them as she quickly made her way up the path.

Feeling the wind starting to swirl around them, Uki picked up the pace and made sure that Ty Lee and Azula were still close behind. They had been walking for only a few minutes and she could already see the bend in the trail coming up which went around the side of the small hill and on the other side she knew there were a couple of hunting cabins that used to be used to store stuff in.

Rounding the corner, Ty Lee quickly pointed to one of the cabins. “I think whoever is out here may be in that cabin, the roof looks like it has caved in with snow.”

“The door to it has been snowed in as well,” Azula added, following Uki over to the cabin but not getting too close.

“Take a step back guys, I’m going to bend the snow off the top of it,” Uki said, taking a deep breath in as she moved most of the snow from the collapsed in roof to the ground below.

“Hello? Is anyone in there?” Ty Lee called out, hearing no reply.

“Can you bend the snow that’s blocking the door?” Azula asked Uki, watching as the young woman circled around the cabin.

“I can, I just had to check the cabin to make sure the snow wasn’t holding it up. The only problem I can see is the snow falling off the top off the hill which I think is actually a cliff face,” Uki replied, quickly moving the snow from the entry way.

Hearing a creaking and rushing sound coming from above, Azula made her way past Uki and pushed the door open. Trudging through the snow that was on the other side of the door, Azula quickly turned her head to the left, hearing the sound of a small child. Looking under the table she spotted a young girl, no older than five years old.

“Be quick, the snow isn’t going to stay on the hill much longer,” Uki called out, holding the fire out so it illuminated what it could of the small cabin.

Quickly grabbing the child up in her arms, Azula tried to calm her down as she made her way out the door holding the little girl close to her. Making it out of the cabin just as the snow on top of the hill gave way and fell onto the cabin with a loud cracking sound, they could all hear as the wood buckled beneath the strain. Letting out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding Azula put the child down and looked at the wreck in front of her.

“Tapeesa, are you okay?” Uki asked, recognising the child.

“I think so. I’m scared, I want to go home,” Tapeesa replied, tears running down her cheeks.

“We came as fast as we could but I see you three have it under control. Now, Tapeesa, where are your parents?” Chief Hakoda asked, picking up the small child.

“They are at home sleeping,” Tapeesa replied, shivering from the cold.

“And why were you outside, especially here?” Hakoda asked, looking at the little girl.

“I wanted to play in the snow today but Mummy and Daddy wouldn’t let me. I waited until they were asleep and snuck out to play. All the big kids were talking about playing out here and I wanted to too,” Tapeesa responded, holding tightly onto the man.

“I will have to have a word with the kids in the morning, let’s head back to the village before it gets any colder,” Hakoda said, carrying the child down the trail.

Feeling a warm hand take hold of hers, Azula offered Ty Lee a soft smile before she followed the chief down the trail and back to the village. 

“If you guys want to head back to your huts, I’ll take Tapeesa to her parents, it’s getting late, you should all get some sleep,” Hakoda said, watching as everyone listened to him, bidding him goodnight.

Still holding onto Ty Lee’s hand, Azula led them back to their hut and entered the main area, taking off her shoes and jacket, thankful the fire was still burning warmly.

“I am so proud of you, Azula,” Ty Lee said, looking into the girl’s golden eyes.

“I only did what felt right,” Azula replied, looking to the ground.

“You rescued a child from a collapsing cabin without any hesitation, I am very proud of you,” Ty Lee responded, letting Azula know she did well.

“Thank you,” Azula softly said, a small smile on her lips as Ty Lee pulled her into a loving embrace.


	16. Chapter 16

Watching as the snow fell around her, Azula took a moment to stop and enjoy the feel of the cold on her face. She had just finished talking with Akna and she felt good, she was beginning to feel more like herself and she was rediscovering things about herself she thought she had lost long ago.

Letting a small smile grace her lips, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, the smell of salt water fresh in the air. Looking around her, the large campfire was going in the middle of the village. There were a few people hovering around deep in conversation as they kept themselves warm.

Noticing Ty Lee in the distance near the dining hall, Azula started to make her way over to the girl, stopping for a second as she saw that Ty Lee was limping. Feeling worried and concerned, before she knew it she was by Ty Lee’s side supporting her, an arm firmly wrapped around Ty Lee’s waist.

“What hurts?” Azula asked, wanting to know what was wrong.

“I think I rolled my ankle,” Ty Lee replied, hissing in pain as she shifted a little too much weight onto her left side, thankful Azula was there to catch her.

“Are you sure it’s not more seriously hurt than that?” Azula asked, ready to carry Ty Lee to a healer.

“I’m sure Azula, don’t worry, I think I just need to rest it for a bit, it should be fine,” Ty Lee replied, hoping that she was right.

“If you say so,” Azula agreed as she helped Ty Lee to walk the rest of the way to their hut, not wanting to start anything out in the open.

Opening the door, Azula helped Ty Lee to sit down on the large chair near the now-out fire. Elevating Ty Lee’s injured ankle using the other smaller chair, Azula gently removed Ty Lee’s boot and gently touched the area, examining the joint.

“This looks pretty bad Ty Lee, I think we need to wrap it to limit the movement and to stabilise the injury. Uncle Iroh told me that once when I went over and my cousin had a similar injury to yours,” Azula said, heading into the small kitchenette and retrieving one of the bandages from the cupboard.

“I think it looks worse than it actually is,” Ty Lee replied, not wanting to admit how bad it really was.

“Hmm, maybe,” Azula replied, walking over with a bandage in her hand.

Being as careful as she could, Azula got work wrapping Ty Lee’s ankle, making sure it was tight enough but not too tight. Securing the bandage, she looked at her handy work and nodded to herself. “Hopefully that will help. How did you roll your ankle?”

“Well, I was helping to clean up in the dining hall after the lunch rush and once everything was washed and put away we all left but I offered to close the main doors. I didn’t realise it had started to snow again and once I stepped onto the snow I slipped and my ankle rolled as I hit the ground. I was lucky the door was there to support me,” Ty Lee replied, trying to move her ankle and instantly regretting it.

Shaking her head softly, Azula placed her hand over the bandaged area. “How does it feel now that it’s wrapped?”

“It feels fine,” Ty Lee replied, not wanting to worry Azula as she tried to hide a look of pain.

“How about we try to be honest?” Azula responded, noticing the pain etched into Ty Lee’s face.

“Honestly, it hurts a lot and it feels like it’s on fire, but I should be fine in a few days, it’s nothing to worry about,” Ty Lee replied, sighing as she looked at her ankle.

“I don’t like the sounds of that, I think you need a healer, I’ll go get one,” Azula responded, putting her coat on.

“Azula, I don’t need a healer, it’s fine, there is nothing to worry about,” Ty Lee tried, not wanting to bother anyone.

“Ty Lee, you are in pain, you are injured, and you need a healer, no ifs or buts. I’ll be back soon,” Azula said, not taking no for an answer.

“Azula, please, I’ll be okay,” Ty Lee tried again, trying to get up.

Walking over to Ty Lee, Azula gave the girl a look that made her sit back down with a huff. “I’m worried about you Ty Lee, please just let me help and get someone. I’ll be back soon, just sit here for a moment and don’t move.” Giving Ty Lee a quick kiss on the lips, Azula exited the hut and walked out into the snow fall.

Quickly making her way through the snow, Azula walked five huts over and knocked on the door, hoping someone was home.

“Azula, what can I do for you?” Uki asked, surprised to see the girl standing there.

“Hi Uki, I don’t mean to be blunt but are you able to heal or do you know anyone who can?” Azula asked, getting straight to the point.

“I can heal, what happened?” Uki asked, concerned that something was wrong.

“Ty Lee fell and rolled her ankle, it’s very swollen and she says it feels like it’s on fire. She didn’t want me to go get anyone but she can’t put any weight on it and I’m worried,” Azula said, explaining the situation.

“That doesn’t sound pleasant, I’m happy to come and help,” Uki replied, slipping her jacket on and following Azula back to her hut.

Heading back into her hut with Uki close behind, Azula went over to Ty Lee.

“Hi Ty Lee, I heard that you hurt your ankle,” Uki said, greeting the girl.

“I did, unfortunately,” Ty Lee replied, looking at her ankle.

“Can I have a look at it?” Uki asked, beginning to unwrap the bandage.

Hissing in pain, Ty Lee tried her best to remain calm as the last of the bandage was removed. Looking at her ankle, a purple bruise was starting to show on her skin.

“I think you’ve done a little more than roll it,” Uki said, opening her canteen and beginning to heal the area. 

Doing her best to make sure that the ankle would be fully healed, Uki carefully manipulated the area, watching as the swelling went down before her eyes and the bruise went through an array of colours as it healed under her touch.

“There we go, I’d suggest keeping off it for a day or so to just let it rest,” Uki said, bending the water back into her canteen.

“Thank you, Uki, it feels much better,” Ty Lee replied, poking her ankle where the swelling used to be.

“You’re very welcome Ty Lee,” Uki responded, smiling at the girl.

“Thank you, Uki, very much,” Azula added, wanting the woman to know she appreciated her help.

“Any time. While I’m here, Azula, there is something I need to say to you. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything to help you in the prison, you are very young and you needed to be looked after and no one did that for you. I just wish I stepped up sooner and put a stop to it. I hope I can make it up to you one day,” Uki said, her blue eyes sincere.

“You did help me more than you know; you and the male bender were the only two who gave me food and water and some glimmer of hope that not everyone is bad. You also told Ty Lee what was going on and that was probably the best thing anyone had ever done for me. If it wasn’t for you and Meela I would probably still be locked up in prison or even dead by now,” Azula honestly replied, feeling a strange sense of calm wash over her.

“I’m glad you’re not still there. I should get going, I’m on dinner duty, I’ll see you guys later,” Uki said, smiling at the two girls before exiting the hut.

“Are you okay, Azula?” Ty Lee asked, watching as Azula just calmly stood there.

“I’m good, I’m going to get this fire started, it’s freezing in here,” Azula replied, getting to work on the fire.

Watching as Azula stocked the wood and kindling up, Ty Lee gave her some time to process what had just happened. By now Ty Lee was used to the old Azula blowing up but the new Azula was calm and collected, and channelled her feelings through doing something.

Seeing the fire spark to life, Ty Lee shifted herself so she was sitting up and patted the spot next to her, silently asking Azula to join her. “Do you want to talk?”

“I just feel something different inside of me, hearing Uki apologise for what happened is helping me to move on and not keep hold of the past. I know it’s always going to be with me but when she mentioned it I didn’t feel anger, I felt acceptance almost? I think it made me feel good and if anyone ever asks, I never said that,” Azula replied, leaning into Ty Lee and resting her head on the girl’s shoulder as she stared into the bright flames of the fire. 

“I think that shows how you’re coming along and how you’re moving forward,” Ty Lee replied, pressing a soft kiss to Azula’s head.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Snuggling closer to Ty Lee, Azula softly exhaled and closed her eyes, relaxing herself completely as she fell silent.


End file.
